Almost
by bandura
Summary: It was four years ago when they broke up. Now, when they cross paths for the first time since then, it seems that one has moved on, while the other is still holding on.
1. Chapter 1

**Felt like writing something new so here it is. Please read and review. Feedback is much appreciated especially since I take it into account when writing the story. It really helps in trying to figure if I'm missing something or not.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Naruto.**

They used to be in love. People used to say that they would last forever. He was going to propose to her. They were supposed to live together, have kids and grow old together. But now that was not the case.

They had broken up. One told the other that there was no love anymore. People then said that they saw that coming. The ring he bought for her was now sold. They had moved far away from each other. They never saw one another for four years. That was until...

Hinata stood outside the room staring into it through the glass by the door. Inside on the bed laid Naruto Uzumaki, unconscious and bandaged from head to toe with wires hooked to his body to monitor his condition. He had been in a horrible car accident and somehow he had survived it, but not without major injuries. Right now he was in a coma and the doctors could not assure her of when he would wake up. It could be days, weeks, months or years.

Hinata had not seen Naruto for four years. The last time she saw him was after her 22nd birthday. It was a day to celebrate her birthday again but without a party that her friends held for her. It was supposed to be just between the two of them, but something went wrong. One thing led to another and at the end of the day they had broken up.

After that Naruto had disappeared without a trace and Hinata could not help but think that she was the cause of everything that went wrong in their relationship. She blamed herself for his departure as well. But soon she learned to live without his presence even if it was the hardest thing to do. They had been dating for four years, since they started college, so to try and get over all that history was impossible for her.

She would admit that somewhere in her heart she still cared for him which was why she dropped everything and rushed as soon as she could to get to his side when she found out about him.

He was an orphan from a young age and the only family he had was his godfather who had died a long time ago. When they were dating he had put Hinata as his emergency contact since she was the closest thing he had to family. It seemed that he hadn't gotten around to changing that because when he got into a fatal car accident, the first person who was informed about his condition was Hinata.

She was surprised to hear Naruto's name being called on the other end of the line, but as soon as she heard about his critical condition she dismissed everything and went after him. She was scared to lose a man she hadn't met in years, a man who had broken her heart, but a man who still held a part of her heart.

Now she stood outside his room in the hospital, contemplating what to do next. She wanted to stay by his side and wait for him to wake up. She wanted to go inside and trace his features to see how much he had changed in the past four years. She wanted to hear his voice and stare into his bright blue eyes. She wanted to go back to how things used to be between them. She wanted to be with him again. But she knew she shouldn't and she couldn't. He had made it very clear on that day that he did not love her and that they could never be together. Her heart had told her that it was a lie, that he was lying to push her away. But then he disappeared and she knew how serious he was about leaving her.

So she decided that she would leave him too, even in the condition that he was in because she knew he was okay now. She left the hospital without entering his room, even after she had stayed there for hours waiting for his surgery to end, and then some more to make sure he was stable.

She had told herself that he was safe now and she didn't need to be there to see him. She went back to her house which was surprisingly in the same city where he was in the hospital. Even with that she had told herself to keep her distance. Yet the next day she came to check up on him, and then again the day after that and the day after that until it was routine for her to visit him in his comatose state at least once a week until he woke up.

Naruto had woken up a month after his accident but he was still not ready to leave the hospital. As soon as Hinata was informed of the change in his condition, she rushed to the hospital to finally meet him but when she arrived, she could not go past the door. Staring into the room through the glass window on the door she saw another woman hugging him and kissing him. She was worrying over the wounds he suffered while he just reassured her in the same carefree manner Hinata was so familiar with.

Looking at him now, Hinata knew that he had moved on but some part of her didn't believe that. She knew that her finding him again like this after all these years was for a reason so the least she could get were some answers from him. With that determination, she turned the knob and headed inside the room to face Naruto for the first time in four years.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you everyone for your comments, reviews and feedback. I really appreciate it that you guys took the time to write it down. So please continue! Let me know what you think and if there's anything that's missing or could be fixed or made better.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **IMPORTANT NOTE: I just wanted to point if any of you forgot or didn't do the math but Naruto and Hinata, in this fic, dated for four years, and then were separated for four years. So they met 8 years ago.**

 _This was a bad idea_ she thought as soon as she pushed through the door and saw his blue eyes staring at her in shock. _This was so stupid,_ she mentally chided herself, _what was I thinking?_

Hinata had finally made her decision to face Naruto after so many years to find some kind of closer if nothing else, but when she opened the door to his room, her resolve began to crumble.

Naruto turned to look at the person who had entered thinking it was the doctor, but instead saw his ex-girlfriend. To say that he was shocked to see her was an understatement. Seeing her after so many years, Naruto didn't know what to think. He thought his eyes might be playing tricks on him but the look of surprise on Ayame's face told him that he wasn't the only one seeing her. Ayame was surprised to see Hinata but only because she didn't know who she was.

Hinata's entrance had caused everyone in the room to silence and Ayame began to find herself in an awkward situation as Naruto and Hinata kept staring at each other. Naruto was taking in the changes Hinata had gone through in the past four years they had been apart, and he felt a sudden pang in his chest knowing that she might not be the same as she was years ago. Her kind nature and beautiful soul was something he wanted to cherish forever but life hadn't turned out that way. She was the first one he had ever loved so deeply but sometimes that is not enough for two people to stay together.

"Uhm," Ayana cleared her throat to get their attention.

It was like a spell had been broken and for the first time Naruto wondered why Hinata was there.

"Hi, my name is Ayame," she said before waiting for Hinata to answer.

"Oh... I... I'm uh," she finally looked to Ayame for the first time since entering the room.

"Hinata..." said Naruto before he could stop himself. Now everyone in the room was looking at him and he knew he had to say something. "Uh... Ayame, this is Hinata," he said while Hinata stayed quiet, listening to his voice when he said her name.

"Oh, you two know each other?" Ayame asked.

"Yes," Hinata replied immediately, but before she could say anymore Naruto cut her.

"She's a friend from college." Hinata's eyes widened at his lie but didn't say anything for a while until she acknowledged what he said.

"Y-yes, I... knew Naruto in college... and I hadn't seen him since graduation, s-so I wanted to see him after I found out about his accident."

"How did you find out?" Naruto asked curiously.

"I'm listed as your emergency contact," stated Hinata as she stared at him while Ayame tried to hide her shock.

Ayame had never met this woman and Naruto had never spoken about her either. But to hear that he trusted her enough to be the one in his time of need was shocking. _They must have been close_ thought Ayame.

"Well, it's always nice to meet a friend of Naruto's," said Ayame as she extended her hand to Hinata. Slowly Hinata stepped forward and shook the woman's extended hand while displaying a taut smile.

Hinata could not believe Naruto had lied about her relationship with him. Did he not want to at least acknowledge her properly. Was he ashamed of her. This only brought back her resolve to talk to Naruto about what happened between them.

Naruto on the other hand could not believe the circumstances that had lead to the situation he was in right now. He had never thought about changing his emergency contact because he had forgotten about it. Now standing in front of him was Hinata all because he had forgotten one thing. _Why did she have to come into my life right now?_ he thought.

He was afraid to acknowledge their history in front of Ayame because he knew what Ayame would think if she found out, and he did not want that. Also he did not want Hinata to come back into his life. There was a reason why they broke and why he left. That reason was still true to this day so it was better if they stayed far away from each other.

Even with thinking that, Naruto could not help but feel a little elated at the fact that even after all these years Hinata cared for him enough to check up on him. He wasn't a fool to think that she might still love him, because he had Ayame now and she needed him.

"I just wanted to check up on N-Naruto when he woke up, so I'll be leaving now that I know s-someone is with him," Hinata said to Ayame before turning to Naruto one more time. "I'll see you later... Take care," she said before leaving the room.

Hinata knew that Naruto understood what she was trying to say. She wanted to talk to Naruto and now that she knew he was not going to leave the hospital anytime soon, she had the perfect opportunity to see him without him disappearing.

Ayame had seemed like a nice girl and even though nothing was said, Hinata knew that there was something between them. But even then, she had never seen her, not even when she came to visit Naruto when he was in a coma.

 _How could they seem so close when the woman hadn't even showed up when Naruto was in danger?_ Hinata thought with slight bitterness but shook her head to dispel such thoughts. She had to focus on one thing at a time. First she had to talk to Naruto.

The next day, Hinata visited the hospital again. This time she was more determined than she had been for weeks. She felt nervous about talking to Naruto but she didn't let that stop her.

She went up to his room and made sure that Ayame wasn't there before entering. She wanted to talk to him privately.

His doctor had just left his room and there seemed to be no one else in the room, so she decided to go in after taking a deep breath to prepare herself.

Naruto heard the door open and for the second time he expected to see his doctor but instead found Hinata. He had been expecting her from the way she spoke to him yesterday but he was still surprised to see her.

She had changed, but he couldn't figure out if it was a good change or a bad one. She was beautiful as always if not more, but he did not know if she was still the same person or not.

"Hi Naruto," his name escaped her like a whisper but he heard her.

"Hinata..."

"How are you feeling?"

"Better... The doctor said that I'll be able to leave in a week." His arm was still in a cast while stitches and bandages ran across his arm, forehead and legs.

"That's good." Hinata slowly walked up to his bed and took a seat in the chair right next to it. Naruto's eyes never left her, anticipating what she would say after the small talk was over.

They stayed silent for a moment as Naruto kept staring at her while she avoided his gaze. He could not believe that she was here in front of him after all this time. He thought that he would never see her again. He had prepared himself for that because that was what was needed. Now seeing her he was reminded of all the love and pain he felt when he left her but it was something that had to be done.

"Naruto, how have you been?" Hinata finally asked as she turned to look him in the eye with a small smile.

"Hinata... why are you here?" Her smile disappeared. "Things ended between us a long time ago. You shouldn't be here," he said as he looked away from her.

"You know, that's exactly what I thought. But then seeing you almost die, struggling for your life while one by one doctors came out, hands drenched in your blood made me realize how long it had been. Four years, Naruto... for four years I didn't see you or hear from you. I didn't know where you were or whether you were even alive.

"I tried forgetting about you," Naruto kept listening to her but never turned to look at her, "and it worked for a while... until I got the call." Naruto finally turned to look at her but she kept going, "I thought that I had given up on you, but I just couldn't bear the thought of you in this condition and all alone. So that's why I'm here. Even though things didn't turn out the way we wanted it to, I still care for you."

"...Thank you Hinata," Naruto tried to suppress the weight that he felt build up in his heart when she spoke. "I know we... ended things on a bad note, but you still came for me so thank you."

"Yeah," she nodded, " we didn't really have a proper ending," she smiled. "You didn't give us a chance to," her smile disappeared once more. "You just ended things and left without any explanation."

Naruto stayed quiet for a while as Hinata waited for him say something, anything. She wanted him to say that things weren't the way she thought they were, or that he tried telling her but couldn't before leaving. She wanted to be reassured by him but his silence wasn't helping.

"If you're here for some kind of explanation," he finally said, avoiding her eyes, "we already talked about it. And my leaving had nothing to do with you." Hinata's eyes widened.

"You can't expect me to believe that...You left the next day. All of your stuff was gone and I didn't get a single word. I didn't know if you were okay or dead...You can't really expect me to not want to know what happened."

"Hinata," he wanted to end this discussion, "there's nothing to talk about here. You should-"

"Hi," Ayame popped her head through the door, "am I interrupting anything?" Both Hinata and Naruto turned to look at the intruder.

"What are you doing here?" asked Naruto.

"Oh, I thought we could have lunch together," she held up some lunchboxes in her hand. Naruto's eyes widened slightly while she turned to Hinata. "I didn't know you would be joining us or else I would've made more."

"That's okay. She was just about to leave anyway," Naruto answered as he looked at Hinata.

"Oh okay... then I'm just going to go to the cafeteria to get some juice for-"

"Okay, I'll wait for you here," Naruto cut her off.

"It was nice to see you again," she said to Hinata. "I hope we can get together and have lunch or something. I always wanted to meet Naruto's friends," she smiled before leaving the room.

Hinata stood up from her chair when she left but she didn't move. Her back was to Naruto but no one said anything.

"You should leave," Naruto said eventually.

Hinata looked over her shoulder to glare at him. She would've stayed longer until he talked because he was stubbornly avoiding the subject, but she couldn't since Ayame would be there soon.

She turned to leave the room but not before stopping at the door to say one more thing.

"There's one thing I know for sure. Now that I know where you are, I'm not going waste my time looking for you. And if you want to beak ties with me then do it all the way so we don't end up in this situation again," with that she left his room leaving Naruto to stare out his window as he laid on his bed. He didn't say more than two words to anyone after that.

Hinata on the other hand felt crushed by Naruto's rejection to talk about what happened. She wanted to find out, but after all these years, she finally saw how he was doing. He had clearly moved on so she knew she shouldn't hurt herself any longer by wondering about what went wrong. He wasn't worried about her so she shouldn't think about him anymore.

As days went by after the meeting between Hinata and Naruto, things seemed to settle down. Naruto was out of the hospital, and Hinata was about to start her job.

She worked as a teacher in a private elementary school. This year she was teaching third grade and she was excited to start the new school year. She had been feeling down recently but seeing all the cute faces of the children always made her happy. She loved working with children, especially where she could teach them, nurture them and hopefully influence them positively.

Amongst the children this year was a new addition to her class. She knew about this and was excited to see the new student even though she hadn't found out their name yet.

It was the first day of school and parents were dropping their children to school. Some cried having to go to school now, while others reunited with friends. Hinata found it nice to watch such enthusiasm in the little ones.

"Hinata!" Hinata turned to where her name was spoken, and found Ayame right behind her. "I can't believe this. It's a small world! I'm so glad there's someone here that I know. We're new in this city and it's kind of scary not knowing anyone." Hinata just heard her words but didn't pay attention as she tried to firgure out why Ayame was at her school.

"What're you doing here?" Hinata found herself asking even if it sounded a bit rude.

"Oh, I thought you knew...Well I'm here to drop off my daughter. Natsumi," Ayame turned to bring forward a little girl.

There was no mistaking it. The blonde hair and those bright blue eyes could only belong to one person. And if there was any doubt then one could see the familiar birthmark patterns on the little girl's cheeks. It was the same as Naruto's.

"Natsumi, this is Hinata. She's daddy's friend," Hinata's heart stopped at that.

 _This is Naruto's..._ Hinata couldn't stop staring at Natsumi. The little girl turned to look at Hinata before saying.

"Hi! My name is Natsumi Uzumaki! And I'm 8 and a half years old," her smile was the same as Naruto's. Ayame just laughed at the girl's enthusiasm.

"She's a little excited about starting school. She'll be going into third grade this year."

This girl looked just like Naruto, but Hinata could find pieces of Ayame in her. The shape of her face, eyes, nose...

Hinata couldn't figure out what was going on. It was clear who were Natsumi's parents but to Hinata, it was still confusing.

This girl was more than eight years old. Naruto and Hinata had met eight years ago. That meant that Natsumi was born before they met.

 _But Naruto never said anything about her,_ thought Hinata as she felt for the second time in her life betrayed by Naruto. _Does he not trust me?_

She couldn't believe that Naruto would lie about something like this, for the four years they were together. But it seemed that was the case because here stood Natsumi and Naruto had never told her that he had a daughter when they dated. Ayame, the girl's mother was now with Naruto, and it all made sense. He had chosen his daughter and his family over Hinata. But what she couldn't understand was that why he hid it from her, when they were together and even recently when she asked him again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you everyone for your reviews and comments. You guys are awesome!**

 **Here is the new chapter. Let me know what you guys think so when I write the next chapter I'll keep it in mind.**

 **Enjoy!**

Was this really happening to her? She still couldn't fully understand the situation she was thrown in but even after accepting the obvious truth behind Natsumi, and her parentage, Hinata still couldn't believe her luck. She went through her day as if it was like any other, but every moment she got, she would glance at the new girl in her class, Natsumi Uzumaki.

Maybe there was a god up there, thought Hinata, that just liked messing around with her. First, it was Naruto's accident which was like losing him all over again, and now it was this girl which would become a constant reminder in her days that what she wanted at one point with Naruto was something he already had with someone else, a family. She could never have something like that with Naruto.

By the end of the day, when the final bell rang and all the children were let out to be picked up, Hinata couldn't breathe. She felt suffocated by the girl's presence because the girl kept reminding her of the one person she did not want to think about.

Hinata packed her stuff and went home right away, not wanting to wait and meet someone she didn't want to by chance. She had to get home and relax to forget everything she had been thinking about that day. Natsumi was just another student in her class, she couldn't move her just because of her parents.

Hinata was not going to let herself be bothered by any of this. She didn't care that Naruto had a child with another woman. She didn't care that he had moved on and was living his life like every other person. She didn't care that she might have to see him and Ayame in the future for parent-teacher conferences, probably a lot of those, and many other things. She didn't care. She wanted to be unfazed, cool and calm. She would take this one step at a time.

The next day, she avoided running into Ayame as much as possible which was a success. But she still had to stare at Natsumi, a physical reminder of Naruto because of their similarities. The girl sat right in the front where Hinata could not miss her even if she wanted to.

Natsumi's cheerful and candor personality was something that Hinata could easily place as an inherited trait from Naruto, which made things so much harder for her. She couldn't even think about what Naruto would do if he found out that she was his daughter's teacher. Would he transfer Natsumi to another class? Another school? Would he avoid Hinata like the plague?

Hinata sighed as she stared at her salad in the teacher's lounge. In was lunch break and most of the teachers were sitting in there either chatting, reading or grading papers while eating lunch. Hinata was the only one who kept staring at her lunch with a depressed look, so much so that another teacher was beginning to worry.

"Hinata, you okay?" asked Tenten, the school's physical education teacher.

"Huh?" replied Hinata so eloquently as her train of thought was halted. Tenten just raised an eyebrow.

"You've been sighing at your food for the past twenty minutes. Do you not like your salad?"

"What? No, the salad is fine. I was just...t-thinking about some stuff."

"Well whatever it is, stop. You always overthink things." She shook her head. "Just enjoy the day and don't worry so much. And if that doesn't help then you can always talk to me," winked Tenten.

Hinata just smiled at her friend's antics. Truthfully, Tenten was the only one she could call a real friend, and maybe her only friend at work. She knew when Hinata needed her space and when she needed to be pushed to open up.

"Thanks Tenten."

The rest of the day went by as usual and soon Hinata was heading back to her apartment. On her way she kept thinking about what it meant for her to have Natsumi in her class. Would she be seeing more of Naruto and her family around at conferences and school events? She shook her head to rid herself of the same thoughts she had been having yesterday. She couldn't wallow over someone from her past when obviously they weren't doing the same. She just had to focus on her work, plus Natsumi was just like any of her other students so she would have to treat her as such and not like a ghost from her past.

Two weeks passed and Hinata was surprised at how normal the school year had been going so far. She didn't know what, but she thought that something was bound to happen to her since so much already happened this year. But she was grateful that nothing out of the ordinary had happened so far. She even got to know more about Natsumi just like she did with any other new student in her class. It was hard at first because every time the little girl described something about herself, Hinata found it easy to relate it back to Naruto because she knew him so well. She had to stop doing that because it was always leading her to a depressed mood afterwards.

At the moment, she was sitting in the teacher's lounge after school, drinking some tea while grading some papers. It was getting late so she decided to pack up and head home.

On her way out, Hinata dropped by the school's main office to pick up some paperwork. There she saw Natsumi sitting in the waiting room at a table in the corner while working on her homework. When students would get picked up late, the school had a policy to have the students wait in the main office rather than outside where there was no adult supervision. It was quite late so Hinata was surprised to see a student still at school. She decided to go talk to her.

"Natsumi," Hinata said as she approached the girl.

"Oh, hi Ms. Hinata!" The girl's face brightened at seeing her teacher. Hinata smiled in response.

"Are you still waiting to get picked up?"

"Yeah. Dad's late again." Her mood fell immediately.

"Oh... w-well, I'm sure he didn't mean to be late. He's probably on his way." Hinata felt awkward talking about Naruto especially in front of Natsumi.

Even after Hinata's effort to console her, Natsumi didn't feel any better and Hinata could see that so she decided to sit with her.

"What about your mom? If your d-dad can't pick you then your mom might."

"My mom..." she turned stared at the table in front of her as if she was remembering something. "Well you see -" But before she could finish Naruto rushes in cutting her off.

Hinata froze when she heard Naruto's voice as his footsteps were getting closer. He was walking behind Hinata and she couldn't do anything but to turn and look at Naruto with wide eyes like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Natsumi, I'm so sorry I tried coming earlier but I couldn't get an earlier shift so..." Naruto's rambling slowly came to a stop as he saw who his daughter was sitting with.

She shouldn't have been surprised since she knew Naruto was coming to pick up Natsumi but Hinata wanted to curse herself as she felt her blush rise and heart race as if she was caught doing something she shouldn't have.

"You're always late, and you say the same excuse every time!" Natsumi folded her arms as she turned away from Naruto with a huff.

It was quiet for a while as Naruto gaped at Hinata while she avoided looking at him. Eventually Natsumi turned to see why her father was so quiet.

"Dad, why are you staring at Ms. Hinata like that?" She asked confused by the look of surprise on his face.

"What?... Ms. Hinata?" He raised his eyebrows as he looked towards his daughter.

"Yeah, this is my teacher. Remember I was telling you about my teacher. Were you not listening to me then!" Natsumi pouted.

"No, I was but you...never told me her name."

"Ok well now you know. Dad this is Ms. Hinata. Ms. Hinata this is my stupid old man." Naruto stared at Hinata for a few more seconds before he registered what his daughter said.

"Wha- Hey! Who're you calling a 'stupid old man'?" Natsumi struck out her tongue at him. "You better watch the way you talk to me young lady." She just turned around and started walking out, ignoring her father. "Natsumi! Come back here and pack your stuff." But she didn't listen.

Hinata felt awkward. At first, Naruto couldn't stop looking at her, but now it seemed like she was not even there. She quickly started to pack Natsumi's stuff in her backpack when she saw the little girl walk away. She didn't want to be in alone with Naruto but she couldn't leave him to pack Natsumi's stuff with only one hand. His other arm was still in a cast.

Naruto glared at the back of his daughter's head but she kept ignoring him so with a sigh he turned to get her stuff but froze when he saw Hinata. She had already packed up Natsumi's stuff, and he didn't know what to say.

"Thank you," he said almost as a whisper when she handed him the backpack.

"Mhm," she replied quickly and began rushing away.

Naruto wanted to say something to make her stop. It was obvious that she was avoiding him especially after the way he spoke to her when she asked for an explanation in the hospital. Now, seeing as how Natsumi was in her class, Naruto knew that Hinata would've figured things out on her own. He wanted to talk to her and explain things to her from his perspective but it was best if he kept his distance from her. He had to focus on his daughter.

He was afraid to talk to Hinata, because he didn't want to say something to her that wasn't meant to be said aloud, or even find out what she thought of him. He thought that it was for the best for him to leave Hinata because after finding out that he had a daughter, he knew he had to take responsibility, but he couldn't drag Hinata with him. She had a life ahead of her after graduation, and he didn't want to tie her down. He honestly believed that she would be happier with someone who didn't have a past like him, because after he found out about his daughter, his old self came back to haunt him.

"Come on dad! It's already so late, and I'm hungry!" Natsumi stomped to get Naruto's attention. He just stared at where Hinata had been and hadn't moved since she left.

"Yeah...lets go," he said finally, as he slowly followed his daughter out of the school to the train station with her backpack slinging from his shoulder.

Hinata, on the other hand, left the school as soon as possible. She went to her car and drove back to her apartment.

In the beginning, all she had wanted was to talk to Naruto and get an explanation that she deserved from him. But now she was too afraid to listen to anything he had to say. In reality, he wouldn't have said anything to her in the school but she was too afraid of the possibility, of even looking in his eyes and finding out what he didn't say all those years ago. She knew now that he had a daughter and that was the reason why he left, but having to hear that from him would've been different.

As much as Hinata had loved Naruto at one point in her life, she wasn't a selfish person. She understood why Naruto decided to leave her to be with his daughter and her mother, but Hinata couldn't help but feel hurt at the fact that he never trusted her enough to tell her his reasons when he broke up with her. Even recently when she asked him again for an explanation at the hospital, he didn't tell her.

This was just the beginning of the school year. Hinata didn't know how long it was going to be like this between her and Naruto. She just wanted to be at that point where everything would feel okay and she could face him without having her heart remember the pain she felt all those years ago.

 **So no real cliffhanger for this one. Thought I should give that a break.**

 **So for these past chapters I've been focusing mainly on Hinata's side of the story but in the next couple of chapters I want to go over what life is like for Naruto.**

 **Till next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry that this one took me awhile to update, which is why I made this chapter longer. I will also post the next chapter soon because I already finished it. I tried writing things from Naruto's side to help you see what life is like for him. Let me know what you think. Thank you for all those who left a comment.**

 **Also, to clear one thing I saw in the comments last time. I think I wrote it in the second chapter but I'll write it here too. Naruto's daughter was born before Naruto and Hinata met. So no, Naruto didn't cheat on Hinata.**

 **Enjoy!**

Naruto stood in front of the stove trying to keep himself from getting distracted so the food didn't burn, but for the past hour he had been failing to do so. Every now and then he found himself thinking about a certain someone he saw only hours ago.

"Dad! How much longer for the food?" Natsumi asked from her place in front of the TV.

She was lying on the her stomach on the carpet with her head resting in her palms and feet swinging in the back. She was watching her favorite show about a knuckle head ninja who yelled a lot. She didn't really understand what the show was about but she liked it.

Naruto looked across the counter to the living room where Natsumi was, and cringed when the blonde ninja on the TV got hit in the head by his teammate. _Jeez, this is too violent for Natusmi._

"Natsumi, why do you like this show?" he asked.

"Well, the main guy kinda looks like you dad," she said without removing her eyes from the TV. Naruto smiled at the thought that his daughter enjoyed watching something because it reminded her of him. "I like it when he gets hit for something stupid by the pink-head," she giggled while Naruto's eye twitched.

"So basically you like watching your dad get clobbered like that?" he asked in irritation.

In response, Natsumi turned around and poked her tongue out to him. She laughed as his expression turned even more sour.

"I'm so hungry, I'm gonna die! How much longer dad?" Natsumi splayed on the floor with her arms spread out.

"It's done. Come, help me set the table." Naruto took out the utensils and plates for just the two of them so she could set the table.

For the rest of the dinner, they just talked about random stuff while Natsumi tried to tease her father whenever she could. Naruto would pretend that her attempts affected him and would go along with her but in reality he was just happy that she was finally opening up to him. In the beginning, when he first met her, it had taken a while for him to get her to talk to him.

Natsumi was almost five years old when she first found out that Naruto was her father. From that point on she hated him. Every time he would come over to talk to her or spend time with her, she would run away. Ayame would always say that it was just her having a childish fit that would pass, but Naruto knew that it was more than that. For the first five years of her life, Natsumi didn't know who her father was. When she was old enough to understand, she would always ask about her father, but she had never seen the man. There were times when she would see other children playing with their fathers and she would envy them. So when she finally met Naruto, she felt anger for all the times he had missed in her life. Where was he when she asked about him? What about all the birthdays he missed? How could he just show up now and say he was her father and expect her to just accept it?

In the beginning, it had taken a few months, but slowly Natsumi was letting Naruto into to her life. She wasn't the nicest to him, but she liked knowing that she had her father who was trying hard to just be there for her. Just like any child, she wanted to have a complete and happy family. When Naruto constantly promised to never leave her and to always be there for her, she finally started listening to him because not only did he promise her but also show her how serious he was. Slowly she was accepting and getting used to having a father around just like how she always wanted it. From then on Natsumi and Naruto had been getting closer and the bond they created was something special to both of them.

In the morning the next day, Naruto took Natsumi to her school. This was his first time doing it because Ayame had been doing it since her school started. But now it was his turn. Now that he had finally settled into his apartment and his job, he was able to do these kinds of little things with his daughter that he enjoyed no matter what. He enjoyed having breakfast with her and watching her fuss in her school uniform about how stupid it was or something.

Naruto dropped her off and watched as she ran into the school to her class. He couldn't help but smile at his daughter's burst of energy this early in the morning. Like father like daughter.

Just a few seconds later, Hinata also walked up to the school. Naruto was standing outside of the school so she didn't see him, but he could see her as she walked into the same classroom as his daughter. He had been surprised to find that Hinata was teaching at his daughter's school and now it seemed that she was her teacher as well. He honestly didn't know how he would deal with this. He knew that she was a good teacher from how much Natsumi spoke about her. It was obvious that the girl liked her. But on the other hand Naruto couldn't figure out how they would interact, how he should act. Should he just pretend to act normal around her and ignore the history they shared. He had to be overthinking this, right? This was Hinata's work and she would be nothing less than professional, so why should he make it a big deal when obviously he couldn't change the reality just to suit his comfort.

After dropping Natsumi off, he went to his work spending the rest of his day as usual until she got out of school. It was always hard to find a shift early enough for him to be able to leave on time to pick up Natsumi from school which was why he was almost always late to pick her up. Even though she would complain every time, she didn't really mind getting picked up late because it was her dad who would pick her up.

This time when he went to pick up Natsumi, he decided to not barge in like last time. Instead he was going to wait and see if Hinata was there. He wanted to observe her and not in a creepy way. He just wanted to know how his daughter and her teacher interacted, that's all.

Naruto went to the main office where he knew Natsumi would be waiting for him. He walked up to the door and peeked inside to see who was in there. He looked around and saw that his daughter was sitting at the table, doing her homework with a boy her age sitting next to her. He couldn't find Hinata so he probably assumed she left.

"Hey Natsumi, ready to go?" She looked up as soon as she heard his voice as he walked towards her.

She nodded in response and started packing her stuff. Her pencil case slipped out of her hand and fell on the ground scattering its contents out. She blushed at her mistake and quickly started picking up her stuff. The brunette boy next to her got down from his seat and helped her collect her things. When she had gotten all of her things packed she turned to the boy with a faint blush on her cheeks.

"T-thank you," she stuttered as she averted her gaze from the boy because she was too shy to look at him.

All this time, Naruto just stood there gaping at his daughter's actions. She hadn't complained even once about him being late. She had barely said a word when she usually yells. And now she was blushing! In front of a boy! What was going on with his daughter?

"Ah, it's no big deal Natsumi." The boy waved his hand. "I'll see you tomorrow in Ms. Hinata's class!" He said as Natsumi waved back and walked up to her father.

Naruto kept staring at her without moving a muscle even when she was standing right next to him.

"Are you gonna stop staring and move, or are you too old for that," she whispered without turning to look towards the boy behind her. Her cheeks were still red but somehow that didn't stop her from talking to her dad like that. Now that was his daughter. He did a sigh of relief and began walking out of the school with his daughter.

"So who was that boy back there?" Naruto asked as he tucked his hands in his pockets.

"None of your concern," she snapped. Natsumi's grip tightened around her backpack's straps on her shoulder.

"You're my daughter. Everything is my concern." Naruto's eye twitched. She was always difficult, but she was especially more if she wanted to avoid or hide something.

"He's just a stupid boy," she said as she scrunched up her nose as if in disgust.

"So he's in your class?" Naruto asked, curious at his daughter's actions.

"Yes," she turned her head to the opposite side of him with force that her blonde pigtails bounced a bit. Naruto had tried making her hair in the morning but ended up with two lopsided pigtails which actually looked cute on her.

"Why are you blushing?"

"B-blushing?"

"Yeah. People blush when they get angry, or when they're embarrassed, or when... Oh my god, my daughter has a crush." Naruto stopped walking.

"W-what's that?" He didn't respond but only stared at her with curiosity. "Dad tell me!" She pulled on his shirt. "Am I gonna get sick?!"

"No," he chuckled, "it just means that you like someone." He crouched down to her level.

"Like?!" She shrieked. "I don't like Haru. Nuh uh." She shook her head furiously.

"I didn't say you liked him. So is that what his name is, Haru." He chuckled again as his daughter panicked for no reason.

When she saw that he kept laughing, Natsumi kicked Naruto in the shin and walked away with a "hmph!"

"Geez, Natsumi!" He rubbed his shin but then followed his daughter. He couldn't believe he just witnessed his daughter have her first crush. He just smiled and shook his head at his daughter's cute pout as they walked to the train station.

"Do you want to go to your mom's place for dinner tonight?" At that Narsumi beamed with a smile as she nodded her head several times.

"Yes! Can we go? Please!"

"Well, I have to drop you off to her place for this weekend anyway so I'll just take you early I guess," he smiled and ruffled her hair as they got on the train.

* * *

"Okay Class! Today we're going to do a writing assignment." All the students groaned and slouched in their chairs after Hinata's announcement on a Monday after the weekend. She knew none of her students liked to write and they would always complain, but it was important to their curriculum. However, it was cute seeing the young students pout whenever a writing assignment was given.

"I don't want to write. It's so boorrinngg and my hand always hurts in the end." Natsumi tried faking some tears and a pout as she innocently looked at her teacher for sympathy.

"That won't work on me, Natsumi. Everyone is doing this and I will be reading these so don't try to just scribble whatever you like or else I will make you write it again." She walked through the rows as she passed a piece of paper to the students. "Write about something you wish for," she said as she stood in front of the class. "I want you to write down something that you want in the future, and why. Don't just tell me your wish for candy, toys or Xbox. This isn't a wishlist for Santa Claus." The students giggled at that. "I want you to write about something you want that you wouldn't be able to get from a store or even from someone else. Fill up at least half a page and don't forget to write why you wish for this. When you're done, write your name and roll number on the top and bring the paper up to me. Any questions? Okay, then start writing."

Hinata went to sit on her desk in front of the classroom. She watched some students ponder as they tapped their pencils on the table, while others rigorously wrote down what they already knew. Since it was towards the end of the day, she gave them the rest of the time to work on this. When the bell was about to ring, she stood up and announced for them to finish up. Soon the students started placing their papers on her table in a pile as they left the classroom.

"Natsumi, are you finished?" Hinata looked towards the girl who was still sitting in her seat. she nodded in response but didn't move. "Here, I'll take your paper. Why don't you pack your stuff. The bell already rang." Hinata was about to walk to her but Natusmi jumped from her seat before she could.

Natsumi grabbed her backpack and walked to Hinata's desk with her paper still in hand.

"Are you going to read these?" she asked.

"Yes, I have to read them to grade them." Hinata smiled. She thought that Natsumi was cute when she was being shy.

Instead of handing her paper to Hinata, Natsumi picked up the pile and placed her paper in the middle somewhere and then ran off saying, "Goodbye, Miss Hinata!" Hinata only chuckled wondering what could she have written to make her so shy.

After collecting her materials and the students' work, Hinata decided to stay in the classroom to grade some papers. The cleaning crew wasn't going to come for another hour and the school was still open for a few more so it wouldn't be an issue. she started with the assignment that she gave out at the end of the day. It was always fun for her to read what her students were thinking. Through this assignment, she would get an idea of what was important to each of her students. Every one of her students was from a different background that she didn't much about and so to get to know them more she would do this assignment to find what they wanted.

After going through almost half of the pile, she came across Natsumi's paper. So far she had been reading about what her students wanted to be when they grew up or how they wanted summer to be longer and etc. Most were simple requests that you would expect children this age to have, but some had been thoughtful. One student had written about how they wanted their lost pet to come back and another had written about how they wanted to be friends with someone in their class. All of these were a good way for Hinata to know what her students were going through. She had placed the ones she found interesting in a separate pile. She was going to see into these students who might need extra guidance.

When she got to Natsumi's paper, she didn't know what to expect. She tried to keep from making any assumptions about her students so when she read her paper, she hadn't expected this. Natsumi wrote that what she wanted the most in the future was for her family to be like a normal family. She wanted her mother and father to be together and be happy. She wanted to be able to have dinner with both her mom and dad everyday. She wanted her parents to stay together.

Hinata didn't give much thought to what Natsumi wrote, only acknowledging what she might be going through. She placed her paper in the pile with the other students she wanted to talk with.

The next day, she began the day as usual. She didn't hand back their papers even though she had them all graded. She poignantly ignored yesterday's assignment until the end when school was about to be over.

"Natsumi, can I speak with you after school." Hinata said quietly as she passed by the girl in the classroom so that not everyone hears when she asked her. Natsumi only nodded in response and stayed in her seat when the bell rang and everyone was getting ready to leave.

When all the students were gone, Hinata took out Natusmi's paper and decided to sit across from her on the student's desk so she was facing her.

"Natsumi, can you tell me why you wrote this?"

"Well, it's pretty obvious," she placed her head on her folded arms on the table.

"No." Hinata shook her head. "Why did you write it here? You knew I was going to read this." she nodded in response, but did not turn to look at Hinata.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hinata asked as Natsumi finally turned to look at her. She just stared at her for a while without responding so Hinata spoke again. "Are you not happy with your parents?"

"I am," she bit her lip, "but..." she shifted in her seat, "why can't they just be together?" she asked quietly to herself but Hinata heard.

"Do your parents not live together?" She nodded hesitantly. "Does that make you angry?"

Natsumi thought about that question before saying anything. She didn't think she was angry, but she didn't like the way things were between her parents.

"I-I...I'm not angry...I just don't like it when we can't be together all the time, you know?" she looked at her teacher as if pleading her to understand.

"I know what you mean," Hinata responded with a smile. "It's normal for children to want their parents to be together."

"Yeah, but then I don't understand why they can't be. They say they love me then why can't they stay together?"

"Sometimes, it's not as simple as that, Natsumi."

"But Ms. Hinata, what could be so important that you can't be together. If you love someone then you want to be with them, right? Why can't we be like all those other families where they do things together and - and have dinner together or go to the park together. Why do I have to be on a schedule to meet mom on the weekends or dad the next week." she was pouting and Hinata could see tears beginning to form in her eyes. She was about to get up to be right next to Natsumi but a knock on the door stopped her.

"Uh... the lady at the front desk said that Natsumi would be here." Naruto saw his daughter sitting across from Hinata on one of the desks when he walked into the classroom. "Is she in trouble?" he asked once he noted how Natsumi was avoiding looking at him.

"No!" Hinata jumped out of her seat. "I just w-wanted to talk to her."

"Oh... well we have to go now, Natsumi." she picked up her backpack and silently trudged out of the classroom without glancing at her father.

"She's a very good student. Really smart, too..." Hinata spoke before Naruto could leave.

"Yeah... she's pretty amazing." He smiled as he looked towards his daughter who was waiting in the hallway.

"Um, N-naruto," he turned to look at Hinata, a little surprised that she called him by his name. "You should talk to Natsumi." Hinata handed Natsumi's assignment from yesterday to Naruto, hoping that he would be able to make her feel better.

Hinata knew that she could only talk to Natsumi but she couldn't change her situation. It was her responsibility to let the parents know about anything related to their child, so she hoped that Naruto might see what Natsumi had been thinking about and help her.

"Thanks Hinata." he looked at her one more time before heading out the door. He realized that he had been saying that a lot recently.

He folded the paper Hinata had given to him and placed it in his pocket. He had read it quickly to see what Hinata had been talking about, but he was going to read it in detail later to see what exactly had his daughter written. He knew this situation was a bit of a struggle for her like for any other child, but he hadn't realized that it would have affected her this much. She never complained much about it when they first decided to separate.

Like any other parents, Ayame and Naruto thought that they owed it to their daughter to try and see if they could work things out to start a new relationship. They thought it would be easier to be together as a family, but in the end it didn't work out. At that time Natsumi hadn't said much. She had been upset but she was still happy whenever she went to stay with either of her parents. Now, seeing how much she resented it even after all this time, Naruto knew he had to do something. Maybe just talking with her might help her understand because it was impossible for them to go back to a family like they had tried.

* * *

 **I wanted to write this in a way to make it seem more real life than cliche with the struggles that you see in everyday life of regular people. I think I'll go back and forth between Naruto and Hinata's side of the story. Let me know your thoughts and I will keep them in mind when writing.**

 **Thank you!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you again to everyone who left a comment and review on the story. As always, you guys are awesome.**

 **Here is the new chapter. Let me know what you guys think.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Maybe you should get more involved in her life," said a brunette as he took a sip of sake from his glass.

"How? I don't know what more I should do." Naruto took the last of the sake from his glass and poured himself some more.

It was Saturday evening and Naruto was out with his old friend Shikamaru. Natsumi was at Ayame's place this weekend so he decided to go out for a drink since he was feeling depressed about what he found from his daughter.

Turns out, she wasn't happy with having to move between him and Ayame every week, but that wasn't the worst. Naruto felt like a bad father for not being able to see it sooner because there was a time that he had felt the same thing. Even though Naruto was an orphan, he had always wanted a family, and so he understood what Natsumi meant when he read that she wanted a normal family. She had her mother and father but she wanted them to be together like a family. He had been absent for the first five years of her life, and now that he was here, he wasn't making things any better.

"I don't know. Get involved in her school or do some activities together." Shikamaru suggested. Naruto pondered about it for awhile but then just shrugged.

"I have to go man. I have to pick up Natusmi tomorrow so I can't have a hangover." Naruto got up from his chair after placing some money on the table to cover his bill while Shikamaru did the same.

"Yeah, if my wife found out I was smoking again she'd make me sleep on the couch so I better leave too."

"Did you start smoking again?" Naruto asked as they walked out onto the sidewalk.

"Occasionally," Shikamaru smirked as he took out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth.

"Man, did you even quit then?" Naruto chuckled. "Well, I'll see you around." Naruto walked away as him and Shikamaru separated going in different directions.

The next day, Naruto went to pick up his daughter from Ayame's house.

"Hey Naruto, come in. Natsumi is almost done packing." Naruto walked in as Ayame left to get Natsumi.

"Ready to go?" he asked once Natsumi arrived. She nodded in response and then they headed out after saying goodbye to Ayame.

"Dad, can I ask you a question?" Natsumi asked after staying silent for a while. At the moment they were seated in Naruto's apartment eating dinner on the table, and usually it would be loud with Natsumi always talking, but it had been quiet today. He was starting to get worried.

"Sure, you can ask me anything," he replied.

"D-do you... Do you love mom?" Naruto froze as he digested what his daughter asked.

"Why are you asking that?"

"I just want to know. Do you love mom or not?" she asked more urgently now.

"Well... yes I love your mother but it's not the way you're thinking."

"B-but why?" Naruto couldn't take the look on her face but he knew he had to be straight forward with her about this.

"It just... doesn't always work out." Naruto gave a small smile hoping that she would understand.

Natsumi stayed quiet for awhile going back to her food until she spoke again.

"D-did you know that mom has a b-boy friend?" Naruto froze. He knew about it, but wasn't sure when Ayame was going to tell her.

"Yeah," he finally answered.

"So you guys really are never getting back together?" she asked and in response Naruto only shook his head.

"Come on. It's time for bed." Natsumi got up to get ready for bed as Naruto gathered the dishes.

Before going to bed, Natsumi gave Naruto a tight hug and without saying anything but a hushed "Goodnight," she went to sleep.

The next day Natsumi stayed behind in class when school ended to ask her teacher about some questions she had been thinking about.

"Ms. Hinata, can I ask you something?"

"Yes, of course," she smiled.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"W-what?"

"I said, do you have a boyfriend?"

"I heard you the f-first time. Why are you asking that?" she asked confused by her question.

"My mom has one," she said as she kicked her feet on the floor.

"Oh," was all that Hinata could say.

"Is it, you know... bad to have a boyfriend?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Well, is a boyfriend just like having a friend... that's a boy?"

"No, not really. It means that you really like that person and want to be with them."

"Like a crush? So my mom has a crush!"

"No, it's a bit more than that," she chuckled. "Being someone's boyfriend or girlfriend means that you really like that person, or even love them, that you want to be with them and spend time with them. It's usually between adults," she added not wanting to place ideas in the little girl's mind.

"So if my mom has a boyfriend then that means she loves him like as in getting married to him and stuff?"

"I guess, if that's what she wants." This conversation was getting too weird for Hinata. What was this girl trying to get at anyway?

"So my mom has someone she wants to be with. But what about my dad?" Hinata stayed quiet not wanting to really talk about Naruto in that context. "Do you think he should have someone like that?"

"W-well I don't really know about that?"

"Ms. Hinata, do you think that my mom will, you know... forget about me now that she has a boyfriend?"

"Natsumi, she won't forget you just like that. Just because she is with someone like that doesn't mean it should affect your relationship with your mom or your dad. So don't worry so much about it. I know that no matter what your parents will always love you."

"Yeah, I know. It's just I'm a little nervous." she pouted.

"Well, it's normal to feel like that when someone new comes into your life."

"I guess. Thank you Ms. Hinata. I see my dad walking outside the school," she said as she saw Naruto through the window. "Bye!" She waved as she stepped outside the class.

Hinata took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh when Natsumi left. It was normal to have students who were going through divorce and separation to have questions like, but Natsumi was in a league of her own. She wasn't sure if she ever had anyone talk so much about this topic with her. Hinata just hoped that she was able to help Natsumi with whatever dilemma she had.

"Dad, you're so late! Let's go!" Natsumi marched up to Naruto and grabbed his hand to pull him away.

"Sorry, I thought I'd get here on time but the train-"

"Save it! I don't want to hear your stupid excuses," Natsumi said as she kept pulling on Naruto's hand as they walked to the train station.

He wasn't sure what had happened, but he was happy that she seemed better than before. Why else would she be yelling at him?

After Natsumi left, Hinata packed her stuff to head to her apartment. It had felt weird talking to Natsumi about her family because she personally knew who these people were. Well at least she knew Naruto. She wasn't sure about Ayame. She had seemed nice whenever she met her, but Hinata had always tried avoiding her because she couldn't help the bitter feeling she would get whenever she thought about Naruto and Ayame.

It was very clear that Naruto had left her all those years ago to be with his daughter and in her heart she knew she couldn't blame him for doing the right thing. It was just that he never tried being honest with her. Maybe she would've gone with him. She could have been there to support him. But he never told her the truth. However, this was not what had made Hinata uncomfortable around Ayame and Natsumi in the beginning. It was the fact that Naruto had a child with her and the bond they shared through that was something she had wanted. She couldn't help but feel depressed that even before he met her, he had already been in a relationship where someone as precious as Natsumi was created. Now all Hinata could do was try to find her peace with this fact and move forward with her life.

She had tried moving on before she found out about Naruto and Natsumi. Tenten always used to try and set her on dates with single guys she knew, but she never had a proper relationship because Hinata was afraid of trying. Things had seemed perfect when she was with Naruto and then out of nowhere he just decided to breakup. Since she never found the reason, Hinata always assumed that she had missed something or that it was her fault. This always held her back whenever she tried dating again. Now that she knew the reason, she was starting to accept the fact that she could move on.

As soon as Hinata got inside her apartment, her cellphone rang.

"Hey Tenten," she said as she answered the phone.

"Hinata! I have been meaning to talk to you but I got so busy this week and then you were with your student today and I've just been dying to tell you and I just hope it's not too late and Oh My God -"

"Tenten! What is it?" Hinata said as she cut her off in her rambling.

"Oh sorry. I'm just so excited!" Tenten squealed on the other end of the line.

"What? What's going on?" Hinata asked as she dropped her bag on the living room couch and went into the kitchen to make herself some dinner.

"Ok, Hinata, I know you said you wanted to take a break from dating and you never really found a guy you liked. But listen, girl, you have to give it another shot."

"What are you saying?" Hinata frowned.

"Okay, so there's this guy..." Hinata groaned, "Wait! Just listen! I promise he's not like the other guys I set you up with. He's just the perfect guy for you!"

"Tenten, I'm really tired of these blind dates."

"No, wait! You have to give this guy a chance. Please! I promise this is my last attempt. Please, I can't let you live this single life."

Hinata thought for a moment trying to see if she had the same reservations she used to have when going on a date. Now, she found herself to be on her guard about this but for the most part she didn't dread it. It was obvious that even if Naruto wasn't with Ayame, he was busy taking care of his daughter, and who's to say he didn't already have a girlfriend. Also, Hinata wouldn't admit this out loud, but she still felt a little angry towards Naruto for the way he left her without any explanation for so many years. She wouldn't have stopped him from doing the right thing, but she could have been saved from a lot of heart break and doubt. Maybe one more date could help her finally move on from him, plus it wouldn't hurt her to go out and just have a good time.

"This will be the last?"

"I promise!"

"Okay, fine!" Hinata huffed.

"Yay! Now all I need is to convince him to go on a date with you! That's gonna be tough. Ok bye!" with that Tenten hung up as Hinata gaped at the phone.

Did Tenten just set her up with someone who might not even want to go out with her? Hinata just shook her head in frustration and fatigue. She could deal with this later. Right now she needed food and some sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you to everyone who left a review. You guys are awesome!**

 **Let me know what you think.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

For the next week after Natsumi's barrage of questions about her mother's boyfriend, Natsumi decided to stay in Hinata's class everyday after school. She liked talking to her, asking her random questions and making her guess things. Natsumi thought it was a much better way to spend time than to just sit in the main office and wait for her father. Natsumi didn't realize that Hinata was staying after school when she usually used to leave right after school ended, but she didn't mind it because Hinata also like talking to Natsumi. Her personality was something she admired and even though she reminded her of Naruto a lot, she still enjoyed Natsumi's company. Slowly, without really knowing it, Hinata was getting over the pain she felt of Naruto leaving her because now she knew that he did it for the best for Natsumi. Hinata just wished that he had told her about it then so they might have still be able to see eachother afterwards.

"Hi," Naruto said as he stood in the doorway to the classroom. Hinata and Natsumi were laughing about something while looking at a book. He couldn't help but smile at the scene in front of him. "What's so funny guys?"

"Wait, wait, you have to look at this one!" Natsumi said as she flipped through some pages. That was when Naruto got a glimpse of what kind of book Natsumi was holding. "Look here, Ms. Hinata! This is where he gets punched for pretending to kiss her in his dream. He's so stupid, just like my dad!"

Naruto's eye twitched when he realized what his daughter was talking about. They were looking at that stupid manga about the blonde ninja who somehow looked a lot like him. Natsumi always used to bring the show up whenever she wanted to make fun of him by showing all the different ways the main ninja got hit on the head for his stupidity. Now she was showing it to Hinata!

"Natsumi, what are you doing?" he said threateningly. Natsumi gulped when she heard her father's voice and Hinata just giggled even more because she couldn't get the image of Naruto getting hit on the head out of her mind.

"I'm sorry! She wanted to show me something." Hinata raised her hands as she tried to contain her laughter when Naruto turned his glare to her.

"Dad, I w-was just, you know, showing her the manga you bought me. Ahaha," she laughed nervously. She always teased her dad but she never knew how far she could get away with it.

"I didn't buy that one for you! It was that other one , how did you get this one?!"

"Oh, I, uh, switched them the last minute." Natsumi looked away, but then her stomach growled making her blush.

"Ah, let's just go get some food from Itchiraku. I'm too tired to cook tonight," Naruto said as he rubbed his face.

"Yes!" Natsumi jumped off her seat. "I already know what I want -wait- can I have two -no- three bowls tonight, dad? Please?"

"I don't know if you can since you tricked me into buying you that manga."

"I'm sorry dad. I won't do it again," she pouted. "Please dad, can I have four bowls?"

"What happened to three?"

"Can Ms. Hinata come with us too?" Both Naruto and Hinata froze.

"Well...I'm sure Ms. Hinata is really tired."

"Come on, Ms. Hinata. It's the best ramen in town here. You have gotta try it." Natsumi pleaded.

"Uh, I don't think I can. Sorry." Hinata smiled at the little girl as she got up herself and walked back to her desk. At Natsumi's devastated face Hinata couldn't help but say, "Maybe another time."

"Yay! Next time then you have to come Ms. Hinata." Natsumi then waved goodbye and walked away.

"Sorry about that. She can get a bit too excited about things," Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head in nervousness.

"That's okay." Hinata smiled and for the first time she felt like she wasn't hiding in front of Naruto like she used to whenever he came.

"Uh, thanks again for staying with her after school. I know you must be busy too and -"

"It's no big deal. I'm here anyways, grading homework and stuff. It's nice talking to her sometimes so I enjoy it."

"But still thank you. She really enjoys your class."

After saying goodbye, Naruto was about to leave but decided against it. He wanted to say something to Hinata that he knew he should've said a long time ago, but was too afraid to confront this topic with her.

"Hinata... I...I'm really sorry for everything that I did back then. I should've told you instead of just abruptly ending things and leaving you. You deserved to know." He rushed as he spoke because he was afraid to lose his courage. He wanted, no needed to tell Hinata. The guilt and pain was eating at him for hiding and basically running away from her. Naruto was too afraid to know what Hinata would think of him when she found out that he had a daughter. He was afraid that she might leave him. He knew that wasn't the case because Hinata was not someone so shallow, but the fear still held on to him. The main thing led him to leave her without any explanation was that he didn't want her leave her life behind and follow him to help him take responsibility of something that wasn't her fault. He was afraid that he would only hold her back from reaching her goals and her happiness. Breaking up with her was his punishment for not knowing about his daughter for the first few years of her life.

Hinata stayed quiet, not knowing how to respond to what Naruto said. Out of nowhere he just said all this to her, and at her workplace which happens to be his daughter's school as well. Things seemed to happen in weird way to Hinata, but at this point, she didn't feel the pain and hate she used to feel whenever she thought about Naruto and her relationship. Even though she didn't suffer from it, she was grateful that Naruto finally said something. It would have been better if he had said something sooner, but people aren't perfect. She realized that and so decided to moved passed the things in her life that were hurting her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked cautiously anticipating his response.

"I... I was just afraid of what you might think of me." His gaze fell, unable to look at Hinata.

"But that's not it though." She frowned as she knew he was not telling her everything.

Naruto stared at her expression knowing full well that Hinata wasn't going to let him go until he gave her what she wanted. He bit the inside of his cheek as he realized how he knew this from the years they had been together, how he could still remember these tiny details about her.

"I didn't want you to follow me," He finally relented and told her the truth. "It didn't want you to leave everything for me. It was for the best." He held her gaze thinking that no matter what had happened, his decision had been for the best.

"Well maybe f-for you...but you never gave me a chance t-to decide on my own." She tried holding her tears from falling in front of Naruto. She really hated him right now. He could have told her the truth from the beginning. She could have still been with him.

"Hinata..." Naruto took a tentative step towards her because no matter how much he wanted to hold her, he knew he couldn't, not anymore.

He was beginning to realize how much his actions had hurt her. He could now see how she would have interpreted his actions knowing how diffident she was back then. She probably would have blamed herself. Naruto was really starting to think that maybe he had made a mistake. He wanted to punch himself.

"It's okay Naruto," she finally said as she looked straight at him. "I know now that what you did was f-for your daughter so I'm not going to hold it against you... Take care." Hinata smiled through the tears that were building up in her eyes, and decided to leave the classroom before they fell. She walked by Natsumi who waved at her in the hallway, and then left the school building.

Naruto just stared at the empty space where Hinata had been, seeing in person how much he had hurt her. He had pushed her away thinking it was for her own good, but the hurt he saw in her eyes and the pain he felt in his chest told him that he might have been wrong to think that.

Natsumi had been waiting in the hallway for her father, and even though she couldn't hear what they were talking about, she could see how they spoke to each other. Naruto walked out of the classroom after her teacher left, and Natsumi could see that something was on her dad's mind. He had been quiet most the way back home and when they got there he didn't say much except for a few words. His contrite demeanor and defeated look didn't help with Natsumi's worry since her father was always so jubilant and energetic whenever his daughter was around.

Natsumi didn't know what her father and her teacher spoke about, but it must've been serious because of how Naruto was behaving since then. There was one thing she knew, which was that the way they both spoke to each others was different than how they would speak to other people. It was like they knew each other when they spoke, as if they had shared secrets, or a special bond.

Natsumi didn't like the feeling she was getting when she saw her father and Hinata together in the classroom today. It was like there something hidden and she did not like the idea of it.

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 **How was Naruto and Hinata's talk? Do you think he explained everything? Was he justified in his decision?**

 **Also, I haven't started on the next chapter yet and thought I should ask before I did.**

 **So who should be Hinata's blind date?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you to everyone that commented, especially with your suggestions for Hinata's date and what you thought about Naruto's actions. It really helped me in writing the chapter.**

 **I wanted to give a special thanks to Maurice Elias A. Nigma for such an in depth review.**

 **Here's the new chapter. Let me know what you think.**

 **Enjoy!**

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It was a long weekend at all the schools in the city since Friday was off, which meant Hinata didn't have work today. She really didn't feel like going to work anyway after what happened yesterday.

Naruto had randomly decided to talk about their past relationship at her workplace, where his daughter was just a few steps away. He had just dived into the subject without warning after seeming to constantly avoid that topic.

Now, the day after Naruto finally opened up about why he did what he did, Hinata stayed in her bed thinking about the conversation. Even if she had woken up hours ago she didn't feel like getting out of bed today.

Hinata felt a mix of emotions and some of them she couldn't even name. She was feeling angry, sad and frustrated. She was angry at Naruto for doing what he did to her. She was sad at knowing that if Naruto had been honest, they could have worked things out and maybe could have still stayed together. She was frustrated because she was tired of feeling like this. She was tired of having her emotions be affected so much, especially by someone who had hurt her in the past.

What Naruto did was with the best intentions, but Hinata had been hurt in the process. All this time Hinata had constantly doubted herself and blamed herself. She had slowly started to isolate herself emotionally and kept away from any possibility of ever loving someone again because she was afraid that they would leave her one day for no reason. She had been too afraid to try and put an effort into any new relationship. But this was all because Naruto had thought he was doing the right thing by her. He had thought that she would be better off without the burden and responsibility Naruto had to carry once he found out about his daughter. He had thought that his decision was for the best, but sometimes the things bearing the best intentions cause the worst reactions.

It was almost midday and Hinata was starting to feel her stomach grumble. She decided that it was time for her to get out of bed and at least make some food for herself. She had tear stains on her cheeks, evidence of all the crying she had done on her pillow last night. She had held onto her tears until she got into the safety and loneliness of her apartment, where nobody could hurt her or see her cry. She had gone straight to bed trying to sleep through the emotional turmoil in her heart, but throughout the night her tears refused to stop. She didn't know when it was but at some point she had fallen asleep.

Now, on a bright afternoon of a Friday, Hinata stood in her kitchen, in her clothes from yesterday, trying to figure out if she should make breakfast or lunch. It was obviously closer to lunch, but she hadn't had breakfast and she really wanted to eat breakfast.

As she played out an internal debate between breakfast or lunch, she tried her best to keep her mind from wandering into thoughts that only brought her tears. When she finally decided on breakfast, her cellphone began to ring. She went around the living room looking for her phone as it rang until she finally found it in her purse. She answered the call immediately as she recognized Tenten's face blaring on her phone's screen, not wanting to keep the girl waiting any longer.

"Hey," Hinata winced at the sound of her own voice as she answered the phone. She pretended to clear her throat as if that had been the reason why her voice was so hoarse. "Hello Tenten."

"Hey Hinata! Are you okay? You sound sick," Tenten asked as worry laced her voice.

"Oh no I'm okay. Thanks for asking. I...uh...I just sneezed a lot because of allergies, yeah," Hinata tried to sound convincing.

"Oh...okay. Well I hope you're not sick because, guess what?" Tenten asked with excitement.

"What?"

"No, guess, silly!"

"Tenten, just tell me," Hinata groaned.

"Someone is not in a good mood. Well, maybe this will get you in a good mood. You have a date tonight!" Hinata could almost feel Tenten jump on the other end of the line. She was far too excited about something Hinata had no interest in.

"Ugh, Tenten! You should've asked before you set up a date for me. I don't feel like going today."

"Hinata, you have to go. You always push these kinds of things away. At this rate, you'll end up as an old maiden with cats all around you. Try to have a little fun."

"But I'm really not in the mood for it today."

"Hinata..." Tenten spoke in a serious tone which got Hinata's attention. "I don't know what you've been through in your past, you never open up to me, but you can't always shut yourself off like that. You shouldn't be afraid of having a relationship and trying to find love. We all want companionship and you just seem so reluctant to give it a chance. I really want to see you happy and in love because it's a very dull life without it. So please, do it for me. Go on your date today and honestly give it a chance."

Hinata listened to Tenten as she spoke and couldn't help but feel guilty that she had never told her best friend about Naruto. She always tried really hard to make sure Hinata wan't lonely or mopey, but Hinata never realized how she was ignoring Tenten's efforts by not trying to move on and find happiness. Tenten cared for her friend's happiness and Hinata thought she at least owed it to her friend to try and give this one date a proper chance.

"Okay," Hinata sighed. "Where is the date?"

"Yes! Hinata, I promise you will really enjoy this date. Wear something nice and maybe some heels. I know you don't like them but you have to dress a bit formal because it's in a really nice restaurant," Tenten rambled as she finally gave Hinata the details about the date.

Hinata was starting to worry about everything now that Tenten told her where the date was. It was in an expensive restaurant that recently opened up in the city, and from Hinata had heard, it was really hard to book a reservation there. It had to be done at least two months in advance. Tenten had said only last week that she still had to convince the guy for a date, so that meant that the guy booked the date this week. How could he get a table at this restaurant this quick?...unless he was someone of importance. Who did Tenten set her up with?

Hinata really wanted to bail out on this, but she decided against it. It would be rude if she ignored the person who probably tried really hard to get a reservation at this restaurant. So with that in mind she took a deep breath and finally entered through the glass doors to the Hokage Restaurant. It was one of the most popular and expensive restaurants in town. Hinata couldn't believe she was actually in here. She had thought that she could only be in this place in her dreams because she could never afford this place, but now she was here, in real life.

Hinata walked up to the hostess at the front who was eyeing her simple black halter top dress that went down to her knees and flowed elegantly below her waist. She didn't own much in formal dresses but she was grateful she had this even if it wasn't something really fancy.

"Hello!" brightly chirped the blonde hostess. "How may I help you?"

"Uhm...I'm here to meet someone," Hinata hesitantly answered, still slightly wary about going to the date.

"Oh, do you know the name of your party?"

"Y-yes, it's Tenten." Hinata pursed her lips a bit as she thought about how Tenten tried to make it super secretive by telling them to make the reservation in her name. This way neither of them would find out who their date was or even their name to look them up before the date started.

"Oh!" The blonde's eyes widened a little before she regained her composure. "Right this way. I'll take you to your table." The hostess motioned for Hinata to follow her as she walked into the restaurant.

Hinata followed her as they weaved through the area where the lights were a little dim to give a more intimate feeling. The place was even bigger on the inside and Hinata scanned the crowded tables in hopes to get a glimpse of her date before she went to meet him. Soon the hostess turned around one to dividers and led Hinata to a table right next to the window. It had a nice view of the city and at night it looked particularly surreal with the lights shining in the background. Hinata was so mesmerized by the view that she almost ignored her date until the hostess spoke.

"Here is your table Miss. Your waiter will be here shortly with your menus." The blonde smiled one last time as Hinata took her seat at the table. She took a glance at the man siting on the table and blushed before leaving.

Hinata was already feeling anxious about the fact that she was with a stranger who was probably very well off, but what was making situations even worse was that the stranger kept staring at her very intensely.

"H-hi, I'm H-Hinata. Tenten told me I w-would be meeting you here b-but she never told me your name," Hinata spoke slowly trying to control her stuttering. She smiled in an effort to dissuade some of the awkwardness, but the man kept staring.

His black eyes and dark hair blended with the darkness of the city's view from the window behind him, which intensified his stare even more. This made Hinata gulp as the silence grew between the two. Sasuke was not looking forward to the date but seeing his date now changed his mind.

This was just the beginning of an interesting date.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you to everyone who left a review!**

 **I didn't put a tag for Sasuke before since I wasn't sure who Hinata's date would be. I will probably put it now because you will be seeing more of him in the story and this would give a heads up to anyone who wants to read this. Sorry for not being clear on that from the beginning and I understand if that wasn't what some were expecting. Anyway, on to the new chapter.**

 **Let me know what you think.**

 **Enjoy!**

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"H-hi, I'm H-Hinata. Tenten told me I w-would be meeting you here b-but she never told me your name."

Sasuke looked over the table to his supposed blind date for the night. She seemed nervous and he could tell she felt out of place in this restaurant. That was strange to Sasuke as he thought that women in general would like these kind of fancy displays.

"Yes, it would seem that she wanted this to be a blind date," Sasuke spoke in smooth eloquence when compared to Hinata's stuttering earlier. She probably felt intimidated by her surrounding and even him too. Sasuke was intrigued by how nervous she looked and wanted to test how far he could push her before her nerves gave up on her. Most women would've thrown themselves at him or tried to impress him but this one was just...shy.

"Yes, a b-blind date." Well of course it was a blind date.

Hinata mentally groaned as she knew this was going to be a long night. She was already feeling so stiff under his scrutiny that she was afraid she might start sweating.

"I'm Sasuke," he spoke after a long pause. He finally tore his gaze away from her and lifted the wine glass on the table. He took a small sip of wine to savor the rich flavor before he held the glass in front of him as if he was examining it.

"Do you know why I agreed to this?" He asked without looking away. He seemed to be focused on the his glass in his hand as he kept moving it to swirl the wine inside.

"N-no," Hinata answered. She tried keeping her eyes on the view behind him to calm herself.

"I was bored." Sasuke stated bluntly without taking his eyes away from the glass.

Hinata felt a sting in her heart at his statement. Was this really how her date was going to go after she finally decided to give it a try? Tenten had said something about convincing the guy to go on a date. Hinata knew that he must have been on the fence about it like she had been, but she didn't think he would be this awful. After all he must've wanted to go on the date if he agreed to it. But listening to his answer made Hinata go in a state of dejection. She felt stupid for holding out any hope on this.

"Well, I-I guess we can end the d-date early." Hinata moved to grab her purse as she decided it was probably best to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sasuke asked. He had placed the wine glass back on the table and now his eyes were back on her with a raised eyebrow to question her actions.

"I thought you were...b-bored?" Hinata settled in her chair once again and looked at him.

"I said I was bored." He leaned forward on the table. "But not anymore." He smirked slightly at the faint blush creeping up Hinata's neck and cheeks. He was definitely going to push her to her limit, maybe even farther.

When the date ended, Hinata wasn't sure how she felt about it. The date itself wasn't anything special, except for the restaurant it was at. Surprisingly, after that little comment from Sasuke that made Hinata stay, the date went pretty normally. She thought that he would have been anything but normal with the way he was speaking in the beginning, but throughout the entire date, he was routinely asking her questions, or giving a few words to answer her questions.

Slowly, throughout the date her nerves began to settle and she found herself to not be so anxious as she had been before. Maybe it was the way he seemed so uninterested in anything. It was weird to think that that was the reason because most women would have been worried that the guy was losing interest in them, but to Hinata it made her feel like she didn't need to work for some kind of approval, because she didn't need or want it especially when he had already made up his mind.

Towards the end of a quite boring dinner, in Hinata's opinion, Sasuke walked her out and offered to take her to her apartment which she accepted. Hinata was starting to think that maybe this would be the last time she would ever see this person until he asked for her phone.

"Why do you need my phone?" asked Hinata as she looked at Sasuke from the passenger seat. He parked his car in front of her apartment once he reached it.

"Why do you think?" He stared at her blankly even if his question was derisive.

Hinata frowned a little, but reluctantly handed her phone to him. After a minute of him doing something on her phone his own phone vibrated with a message and he gave her phone back.

"I placed my number in your phone and texted myself so I'll have your number too."

Hinata's frown grew and she wanted to smack herself. Of course he was putting his number in her phone but why?

"So we can set up another date, unless you want to go through Tenten again?" he said, reading her question from her expression.

"You want to go on...another date with me?" Hinata was confused. She thought that he was uninterested with the way he was acting for the most part of their date, excluding the beginning.

"You don't want to?" He raised an eyebrow as if to challenge her.

"I-I didn't mean it like that!...I just thought...you were -"

"You thought wrong," Sasuke cut her off.

With his eyes locked on hers, he slowly leaned in with his face closing in on hers and one arm draping around her waist. For a second Hinata's breath hitched and her face blushed at the proximity of the other person. Her heart was racing and she leaned backwards to create some distance between them until she heard a click.

"Goodbye, Hinata."

She felt a cold breeze leak into the car from behind her as he pulled away with a smirk on his face. She realized he had done that to only open the door, but was he teasing her? That smirk wasn't her imagination.

Hinata said a quick goodbye and turned to leave from the car door, but not before he leaned closer to her once again. He was now to her back so he leaned in until he was close to her ear.

"I'll let you know when we can set up our next date," he half whispered.

Hinata stiffened as she felt his breath on her ear and neck since her hair was up in a small bun. Her face flushed again and she nodded her head once before she finally left his car without a second look back. She almost ran to her apartment building and once she got inside her apartment she placed a hand on her heart to calm herself down. What had she gotten herself into?

For Hinata, the weekend went by quickly after that as she kept herself preoccupied with several things so that she wouldn't have to think about Naruto, or even Sasuke. Thinking about the blonde would make her depressed, while thinking about her date would make her slightly flustered and annoyed as he was obviously messing with her which she realized after recapping the event in her head several times.

Even though the date didn't turn out as she had expected it to, she was looking forward to meeting Sasuke again. She was surprised at herself for hoping for something like this, but every time her mind drifted to Naruto, she unconsciously pushed her thoughts to something else like Sasuke and the date. That always seemed to take her out of her sad mood.

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 **Let me know what you think about the date.**

 **Naruto will appear in the next chapter and you'll see how he's feeling. I have the next chapter already written so I will post it soon.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Woah. I knew people would get upset at the new addition of Sasuke but I didn't realize it would be so divisive. Like I said in the previous chapter, I understand if readers got upset since they might not have expected this but that does not mean you can go around bashing the characters, the author and other ships. This is my story so the characters I write will be according to what I want them to be in the story. I read the reviews and I know that people can be harsh with their comments but I don't let that affect me because I will do what I want just like you will do what you want. I can't stop you from reading this fic and writing comments about it, and you can't stop me from writing this fic the way I want to. If you don't like what I write then you have the freedom to ignore it.**

 **On the other hand I would like to thank all those who took the time to write comments and critiques for this story in a respectful way that did not discourage the writer or other readers. Thank you.**

 **Now on to the new chapter. Let me know what you think.**

 **Enjoy!**

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For Naruto, the weekend had been quite a dark one as he had ended up staying in most of the time. Natsumi was at her mother's house for the weekend so there was no one around to keep him busy and this led him to do a lot of thinking.

He thought that talking with Hinata would make the situation better between the two of them. He didn't like how things were awkward between them. Seeing her had brought up emotions that he had buried deep in his heart so that he could focus on his daughter and his responsibilities, but after actually talking to Hinata he was starting to question himself and his actions. Had he made the right choice? Did he really hurt her that much? Had he unnecessarily caused pain to the both of them? He thought that this was what was best for her, but was it really? She was obviously hurt by his decision, but he still wasn't sure about the magnitude of her pain.

Throughout the entire weekend, more than once, Naruto questioned that if he could go back, would he make a different decision? Even if he kept thinking about the past, he couldn't change it now. That was one thing Naruto regretted because he could not stop thinking about an alternative where he and Hinata had never been separated. That could never happen now. There was only one thing he could do, and that was that he could try to make things better between him and Hinata. He wanted to make amends.

Natsumi had also noticed how her father was behaving this weekend. When Naruto picked her up on Sunday, his mood didn't seem as bad as it had been in the beginning of the weekend, but there was this new determination that made him seem quite pensive whenever he was lost in thought. Natsumi didn't know what was going on with her father. His forced smile and efforts to pretend that he was okay didn't make her feel any better. She knew something wasn't right and she couldn't figure out what it was.

When Monday came Naruto started the new week with a new goal in mind to try and make amends for his mistake in his past. He had to somehow make it up to her if he wanted to at least be on friendly terms with her. Natsumi, on the other hand, started her day with a goal to figure out why her father was acting weird all of sudden. Maybe she could find out what her teacher and her father spoke about last week that affected him this much.

"Ms. Hinata, how was your weekend?" Natsumi asked as she sat in front of Hinata who was at her desk. School had ended and Natsumi was waiting for her dad in her classroom like she usually did. Hinata was reluctant to let her stay there just because she wasn't sure if she wanted to see Naruto herself, but decided against it. It would be unfair for Natsumi to be affected by something that wasn't her fault.

"I suppose it went well," Hinata replied automatically not really paying attention to what she was saying since she was busy grading some assignments. It wasn't until she realized what Natsumi had asked that she began blushing at the memory of her date. Now whenever she thought back to the weekend, she didn't remember how she had felt in the beginning when she was depressed over Naruto's conversation last week. She only thought about the blind date she had been on, and it alwaays caused her to feel a mix of emotions that she couldn't distinguish.

"Oh," was all that Natsumi said. She had thought that maybe her teacher's weekend would've been as bad as her father's since his mood changed after talking to Hinata. "I think something happened to my dad over the weekend," she said with concern as she stared at the desk in front of her.

Hinata's heart constricted slightly at the mention of Naruto, but her concern for him won over any anxiety or impulse to avoid the topic. "What happened to Naruto?" she asked immediately without much thought except for Naruto's well being. Seeing him after his accident had caused Hinata to be more vulnerable to his health and well being. Sure she was angry at him for causing her so much heartache, but she still did care for him.

"I-it wasn't something serious, I think." Natsumi raised her eyebrows at the serious look of concern on Hinata's face. She was surprised to see Hinata worried over her father, and the way she said his name with so much familiarity like she knew him as more than just Natsumi's father.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked as she scrunched her eyebrows in concern.

"He was probably sick, haha," Natsumi laughed nervously when she realized how seriously her teacher had taken her words. Her father was only acting weird but he was still perfectly fine, physically at least. Hinata just looking at Natusmi in confusion but ended up shrugging as she went back to her work with a small sigh of relief at knowing that it wasn't something serious.

"Uh, hello," Naruto said nervously as he walked into the classroom.

Natsumi looked at her father who was acting weirdly now.

"I'm here to pick up Natsumi," he said to Hinata as if she didn't already know.

Hinata tilted her head at the obvious awkwardness in Naruto's behavior but didn't comment on it. She could understand why Naruto was acting like that because of the conversation they had last week. She hadn't outright said it, but Naruto probably figured how much his actions had affected her after all this time thinking that he was doing it for the best.

"Dad, what's for dinner?" Natsumi asked as she packed her backpack.

"Shoot! I didn't buy the groceries." Naruto smacked his forehead as he realized how distracted he was over the weekend that he forgot to get more groceries. There probably wasn't anything left to cook at his apartment. "I guess we'll go to Ichiraku tonight."

"Really?" Natsumi's eyes widened before she turned. "Ms. Hinata, you said you would come with us the next time we went to Ichiraku." She looked at her teacher hopefully remembering what she had said last week.

"What?" Hinata said while staring blankly at Natsumi.

"Remeber you said 'maybe another time' when you couldn't come to Ichiraku with us last week." Natsumi kept pushing for Hinata to come because this was one way she could see how her father and her teacher interacted with each other outside of school. She was convinced that there was something between them, and she wanted to figure it out.

"Oh, I-I'm not sure if your fathe-"

"I don't mind... You should come...If you want to," Naruto finally spoke after Natsumi begged Hinata to come with them. He had felt awkward last week when Natusmi had brought it up, but this time it seemed like the best idea to try to amend the distance and the strain between the two of them. He wanted things to be normal.

Hinata stared at Naruto with wide eyes as she tried to think of why he would be asking her to come. She thought that he would be avoiding her like always and she was alright with that because she wanted nothing but to get over him. Now he wanted her to come with him and his daughter for dinner. She could see in his eyes how he was trying to plead with her to come.

"Natsumi, why don't you wait outside for me," Naruto told his daughter without taking his eyes off of Hinata.

"Ok," she replied after a few seconds of staring at the both of them in curiosity.

"I... I know I've messed up a lot in the past...and you didn't deserve the pain I caused you. I was stupid thinking that it was for the best without realizing the consequences of my decision...Hinata...I'm not asking you to forgive me just yet because I know I don't deserve it. But, please give me a chance to at least make it up to you." Naruto looked towards Hinata as she stood there silently without giving much away in her expression. He was nervous and his heart was beating abnormally fast because he desperately wanted this.

Hinata's own heart was beating rapidly but she controlled herself from letting her facade fade in front of Naruto. She tried to bring up the hate she felt for this man whenever she thought about the pain he caused her. How dare he try to fix things like it was not a big deal. He broke her heart and there was a part of her that wanted him to suffer for doing so. But looking at him now made it hard for her to bring up all those negative feelings because there was still a part of her that missed his touches and his kisses; it was a part that wanted to just forgive him and run back into his arms. She knew he didn't deserve her forgiveness, not so easily at least. No matter how kind natured she was, she knew she couldn't forgive and forget that easily.

"Please Hinata," Naruto whispered loud enough for her to hear as he begged after she didn't say anything for a while.

"Okay," she whispered back.

Hinata didn't want to forgive him easily because it would just mean that all the pain he caused her didn't mean anything, but she didn't also want to push him away. She wanted to give him a chance especially after meeting him after four years and almost losing him all over again in the accident. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt for inadvertently making a decision that broke her heart because she didn't want to end up looking back with regrets and what ifs in her mind. If this really was never meant to be then the only way to find out was to try, why else would fate bring them together like this after all those years.

* * *

 **I know it seems too easy for Hinata to accept Naruto's effort to patch things up, but don't expect her to just let Naruto waltz his way back into her life. Even though he knew he hurt her, I'm going to make it so that he can finally understand how much he affected her. Naruto has a character flaw where he is too selfless, and sometimes thinks he is doing something for the best without realizing how much it would affect someone. You'll see that in the future chapters.**

 **Also, her doing this does not mean that she will stop trying to move on from Naruto.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I was having a hard time writing this one and I'm not sure if I'm still satisfied with how this chapter turned out. I almost lost the whole chapter and I had to write it again but thankfully I found the old one.**

 **Thank you to everyone who left a review.**

 **Here's the new chapter. Let me know what you think.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Sasuke frowned at the fact that he had to be the one to contact first between the two after their first date. Women had always been much eager than him whenever he started dating them so he never had to worry about being the one to reach out or communicate with his dates. They would always be the ones who would contact him and tried to set up dates in hopes that he wouldn't lose interest in them. This was the first time he had to actually try to get someone's attention.

After the date he had told her that he would tell her when they could set up their next date. He had done that to make sure that they were going to set it up according to his liking but he had thought that she would still be eager to contact him. Don't women usually get so excited after the first date that they can't help but text or call the guy back? Sure there were exceptions to the rule but that still didn't mean that they would completely forget about the date.

He had thought that Hinata would contact him the next day like most of his dates usually did, but she hadn't and that was a good thing because it meant that she wasn't clingy like some of the other women he had been with. He had thought that maybe she was just shy and waited another day, but she still hadn't contacted him. On the third day he thought that maybe she was playing some kind of game where she was going to make him be the one to contact first so he decided to wait throughout the day. When he didn't receive any notification from her, he began to wonder if she wasn't interested. _No, that couldn't be it,_ he thought arrogantly.

Hinata felt her cellphone vibrate in her purse as she walked beside Naruto with Natsumi in the middle. She was tempted to take it out and see who had texted her but she didn't want to seem rude especially when Natsumi was telling a story with so much enthusiasm even if Hinata wasn't paying much attention to it. Little did she know that on the other side of the city, Sasuke was irritated at the fact that he had to be the one to wait for her response. _What game is she playing?_ thought Sasuke as he went back to his work, silently waiting for her response.

"What do you want to order?" Naruto asked as they stood by the counter at Ichiraku to order their food.

"I want three bowls of miso!" Natsumi went on as she said her order.

Hinata tried to focus on the menu in front of her instead of her rapid heart beat. What was she thinking when she agreed to this? Didn't it say somewhere in those corner excerpts of a magazine designed for love-obsessed teenage girls that going with your ex was a bad idea unless you decided to get back with them. Was she sending the wrong message to Naruto? She hoped not. Ugh -why was this making her so nervous?

"Hinata, what do you want?" Naruto asked her directly this time, and his tone of familiarity didn't go unnoticed by Natsumi.

"Uh...I'll...I'll take the same as Natsumi."

"You want three bowls?" Naruto raised an eyebrow while a smile of amusement played on his lip.

"N-no, just one is fine for me." Hinata blushed as she looked away trying to take out her wallet but before she could get her money, Naruto had already paid for everything, her order included. "You didn't have to pay for me." Hinata pursed her lips knowing that Naruto thought this was not a big deal but to her it was. She didn't want to feel like she was his responsibility. She hadn't even let Sasuke pay for her on their first date.

"Ah, it was no big deal." He waved as if trying to dispel her worries. He knew how polite Hinata was and she probably would have thought that she was intruding here, but in his jovial demeanor Naruto missed how Hinata didn't appreciate his actions. He was too happy on just the fact that she was there with them.

"Let's sit there!" Natsumi pointed at a table and walked in its direction as she pulled Hinata's hand.

Soon they were seated on the table, each sitting on a separate side, but the table was small enough to let each of them sit equally close to one another. They waited for their food to arrive and during that time both adults stayed quiet most of the time while Natsumi spoke. Naruto, sitting right across from Hinata, kept sneaking a glance at her. He noticed that she wasn't looking at him and not once had she even turned in his direction as if she was trying to keep her eyes away from him. _Is she regretting her decision to come?_ thought Naruto.

When the food arrived, neither of the two adults spoke to each other directly which disappointed Natsumi who was hoping to see them interact. Most of the time she had been the one to speak about random things or else it would get really quiet, and whenever she tried to engage either one in a conversation, they would turn it back to her. It wasn't like they weren't paying her any attention, but it was just that they were avoiding having to talk to each other.

Hinata felt uncomfortable talking to Naruto in such a relaxed environment outside her work, especially in front of Natsumi who only thought of them as nothing more than the roles they had in her life. She didn't know about the history behind the two, and Hinata was worried about how Naruto would make everything seem normal even if it wasn't. Naruto on the other hand felt nervous to bring up any conversation with Hinata. He was afraid that she was regretting coming out with them and he feared that if he said anything, he would mess up causing her to completely shut him off.

After Natsumi had gone quiet for a while Naruto couldn't stop himself from looking at Hinata. He noticed something and spoke directly to her even if he was too afraid to earlier.

"You have something..." Naruto pointed at his chin as he looked at Hinata eye to eye for the first time throughout the dinner.

"Huh?" She blankly stared at him, worried that it might have been unprofessional of her to even go out to dinner with them.

"You have..." Naruto kept pointing to his chin, all the while Natsumi just stared at the two adults on the table. She stayed quiet as she observed how the two finally interacted without paying any attention to her.

Hinata finally understood what he meant and tried to wipe her chin with the back of her hand.

"No, it's...still there."

"Is it gone now?" she asked after she wiped her chin with a napkin.

"No," Naruto shook his head, and without thinking he reached out with his hand to get rid of the piece that was stuck to her chin.

"T-thanks..." Hinata lowered her gaze at her bowl when Naruto retreated his hand.

Both of them averted their gaze and blushed slightly at the contact. It got quiet for a few seconds before Natsumi decided to break the awkward silence with something random as if she didn't see anything unusual between the two, but she had. _They're blushing...doesn't that mean that they have...crushes on each other? They have a crush on each other!?_ Natsumi thought as she remembered what her father had told her when she was blushing at the mention of her classmate's name.

"Thank you for letting me join you two for dinner," Hinata said politely as they stood outside the restaurant, ready to part their ways.

"You have to come again Ms. Hinata! It was so much fun since it can be boring to hangout just with dad." Natsumi tried to roll her eyes like she had seen so many adults do. In reality, she really wanted Hinata to join them again because she wanted to see whether her theory was right. It felt weird thinking that her teacher and her father might have crushes on each other.

Natsumi was very observant for her age. She seemed carefree all the time but she noticed things in people, like their shift in mood or they way they spoke. She saw that change in her dad when her teacher agreed to go to the restaurant with them. She also noticed that change in Hinata on the way from school and all throughout dinner. Natusmi knew that her teacher's behavior always changed with her father around, and it seemed normal at the time, but today she was a bit guarded.

Hinata smiled at Natsumi as Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly not knowing how to retort back to Natsumi for the jab.

"Yeah, it was nice to have you," he finally decided to say after gaining enough courage to speak to her.

"Yes, it was nice," was Hinata's terse reply. "Naruto..." He waited for her to finish, "It was a nice gesture but it isn't like...before, so don't take liberties like that again." Hinata looked straight at him trying not to seem too harsh or nervous when she said that.

"What?" Naruto was confused since he couldn't recall what she was talking about.

"The bill," Hinata replied.

Natsumi scrunched her face in confusion. What was wrong with the bill?

"Oh...S-sorry." He smiled nervously realizing his mistake. He hadn't considered the fact of what it might implicate if he did that. He just paid for her as if they were together. He mentally slapped his forehead at his blunt mistake. He probably seemed like an ass for assuming that she would be okay with it.

"It's okay...Here, this is for the cost for my bowl" Hinata sighed, feeling the weariness from the entire day weighing in on her as Naruto reluctantly accepted the money from. He knew better than to argue with her and Hinata felt better. "I'll see you in school tomorrow," she said to Natsumi who gave her a bright smile in return. "Goodnight." She glanced towards Naruto and gave him a small smile hoping to dispel any uncomfortable feeling around them.

"Goodnight," Naruto replied with a smile of his own and with a nod he grabbed his daughter's hand before walking away from Hinata.

Hinata sighed as she saw Naruto's retreating form and turned to head home herself in the opposite direction. Even though the dinner was not eventful, Hinata would think that she did the right thing in accepting Naruto's offer. It didn't mean anything but she felt like this was a step towards fixing the broken bond between them. She knew it would never go back to the way things were but that was okay. She had to first accept that they could never go back to how they used to be all those years ago because without this acceptance she could never move on to the next stage of her life, no matter what it was. If it turned that they could never be together even after moving past what happened between them, then that was okay. But if it turned out that they could somehow work things out then that would be okay too. Now all Hinata had to do was to let things run its course without giving much thought to what could happen in the future. She kept bashing herself for holding onto any hope even after all this time because that would only hurt her in the end. Sometimes old habits die hard, and it was hard for her to stop feeling this way for her first and only love.

"Oh! My phone..." Hinata looked through her purse as she realized that her phone was vibrating again, but with a phone call this time. It had vibrated once more during dinner and she was hoping to get back to whoever it was afterwards but it had almost been three hours since the first text.

"Hello?" Hinata answered her phone with a question when she couldn't recognize the name on her contact ID. It was only the initials 'SU'. Who could that be?

"Now is that how you greet someone when you've rudely ignored their texts for three hours?" Sasuke spoke sarcastically on the other end of the line.

"Sasuke?" She was surprised that he had called her. She never really thought about contacting each other after the date but the idea of Sasuke being the first one to call seemed weird to her.

"Were you expecting someone else?" Hinata could feel his expression without having to see his face. She knew he had an eyebrow raised while his teasing tone displayed the small smirk that was sure to be on his lips.

"No, I wasn't...I'm sorry for not replying. I was...busy with some stuff."

"Hn." Sasuke was surprised at not hearing her nervous stutter. It was kind of her trademark, at least that was what he thought from the first date. But it seemed that Hinata became much more comfortable when she didn't have to face someone when dealing with pressured situations. Maybe he could see if he still could have an effect on her even through the phone. "Well, I thought that maybe you didn't want to go on a second date anymore."

"No, I...Wait, I mean...I do want to go on a second date," she said firmly.

"Tomorrow there's an event at the club near my apartment," Sasuke spoke after some silence. "We'll go there."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"But that's in the middle of the week," she said worriedly.

"So?"

"I...I can't. It's a school night and I can't go out on a school night."

"Do you have a curfew?" Sasuke got up for his chair and walked to the window in his office to stare at the lights outside. He could see the headlights shining on the cars as they drove, looking like ants in a line from far away.

"N-no...I meant that I'll have work the next day...at the elementary school. You remember I told you where I worked, right?" Sasuke smirked at her stutter in the beginning. "I can't go tomorrow." She was about to apologize but held back.

"Hm...But I'm free tomorrow. I changed my schedule so that I could go out with you," he lied.

"How...How can you decide that without even asking me?...Look...This date, we can't just do it whenever you like...You have to accommodate me too. Or else we shouldn't do this anymore." Hinata didn't know where she got this new ability to speak whatever was on her mind but it seemed like today she didn't care about what anyone thought.

Usually she would've felt guilty at denying someone and would've went along if they said something like what Sasuke said, but Hinata wasn't taking that anymore. Not from him anyway. It was the fact that she knew he wasn't really serious about it unlike her previous dates who had been ready for commitment. After finding out his name, she knew immediately what kind of a guy he was, and at first it intimated her. But now she felt like she wasn't bound by any expectation to a commitment to him. It was something fleeting, as if they would do this without the pressure of a full out relationship and then if they didn't want to continue, she wouldn't be hurt because none of them were serious about it. Maybe that was why Tenten had thought that this was a perfect date for her. Maybe she thought that Hinata needed this because she would always shy away from a relationship or a commitment. This would be something lighthearted and not serious, that was what Hinata thought at least.

"Hn...Maybe you're right." Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at how smoothly she had spoken. He would've thought that he could guilt trip her into doing anything, but he was wrong. He was used to having his way. But maybe it was time for a change.

"Yes." She was surprised at how easily he agreed. "We can...meet on Saturday...?"

"I'll let you decide on this one, since I set up the location for the last date." She wanted to be accommodated, right?

"Oh...o-okay." Was this his way of payback?

"I look forward to what you plan...Bye." Sasuke hung up the phone with a chuckle .

Hinata couldn't believe he had just let her be in charge of their second date. How was she suppose to top the expensive restaurant they went to on their first date? Well it didn't matter right now anyway since she had the entire week to think about it because right now she was too tired to think.

* * *

The next day, Naruto sat at his desk, staring at his computer screen pretending to do his work, but in reality, he was just thinking back to yesterday. He used to be afraid at the thought of Hinata ever finding out that he had a child before he met her. He didn't want to see the look of betrayal and disappointment on her, but by now realized that he couldn't hide from her forever.

He had made a mistake in the past and now he was determined to make it up to her, but he had to be careful of how he did that, especially when it came to how he treated her. He had to stop making assumptions about her when it came to how she felt. He had made the mistake of assuming that she would be happier if he didn't involve her in his situation with Natsumi, but it was wrong of him to make a decision on his assumption without even giving her the option to decide for herself. He was afraid of what she might have thought of him, and that only bolstered his assumption that she was better off without him. He couldn't do that to her again if he wanted to make up for the pain he caused her.

Yesterday's blunder was a small one but even then he had done the same thing he wanted to avoid. He didn't consider what she would think or what her decision would be because he never let her decide. It was a minor issue but to Naruto it felt like a big hurdle. He really had to change the way he treated her.

"Naruto, the bastar- uhm...he wants to see you in his office." Shikamaru stood in front of Naruto's cubicle relaying his version of a message when he saw a coworker walk by giving him a stern look.

"Really?" Naruto groaned. "Fine, I'll go in a minute."

"No, he wants to see you right now."

"Okay, I guess death could wait for me on another day." Shikamaru rolled his eyes at his friend's dramatics. Neither of them liked their boss, but Naruto hated him the most.

"You wanted to see me," Naruto said as he knocked on the open door that led to a spacious office with the best view of the city, in his opinion. But it all had to go to this bastard who unfortunately happened to be his boss.

"Uzumaki, you finally decided to show up." Sasuke looked up at his employee. "Come in."

Naruto walked in and sat in one of the chairs in front of Sasuke's desk. He didn't know what led him to this situation but Naruto still couldn't believe he was working under his high school rival.

They had hated each other all throughout their time in school, always trying to one up the other. Sasuke was the most popular guy in school coming from a wealthy family, and with a seemingly natural talent for everything he always was the center of attention. Naruto on the other hand was the opposite of him, and this often led them to clash. Naruto always worked hard to succeed and be better than Sasuke, while Sasuke secretly always felt envious of Naruto's ability to persevere and catch up to him. But now Sasuke couldn't help but feel the smug satisfaction whenever he saw Naruto working in his company. They had gone separate ways for college but it was funny how circumstances brought them together again when Naruto needed a job and the only one to offer him a good one was the man he hated the most. It was like Sasuke was rubbing it in his face, but Naruto didn't have much of a choice than to begrudgingly accept his offer.

"What do you want?" Naruto got straight to the point, not wanting to exchange any fake pleasantries with the man.

"I'll be busy this Saturday so I want you to finish the write up for the proposal for the upcoming deal. I'll look over it when you're done but I can't work on it this weekend."

"Why not?" Naruto frowned. He didn't like the idea of having to bring work home on the weekend, especially when it wasn't even his own.

"I already told you that I'm busy," Sasuke growled.

"On Saturday but you could do it the next day." Naruto frowned.

"No, I can't. Now are you going to do it or should I call someone else."

"Okay, fine." Even though he hated the guy, Naruto didn't want to give him any reason to dock his pay or fire him because it was hard finding a job in this economy especially one that paid this well. He would just have to deal with this.

"Hn." Sasuke smirked.

"Is that it?" Naruto snapped.

"Yes.''

* * *

 **No, Sasuke doesn't know about Hinata and Naruto's history. He doesn't even know that they know each other. Not yet at least.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm very very sorry about how long it took to get this chapter out. Please forgive me :(**

 **As always thank you to all those who left a comment and reviewed.**

 **Here's the new chapter. Let me know what you think.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"You know Natsumi has been doing really well in her class recently." Hinata stood around her desk as she organized her belongings on it while Naruto leaned against one of the desks for the students as he listened to her.

"Really? I always thought she was a slacker like me," he laughed nervously.

"Well...she still goofs off in class sometimes," Hinata smiled, "but when it's something that interests her then she goes all in. You were like that too in class." Hinata looked at Naruto pointedly.

"Huh?" Naruto gave her a confused look.

"Do you remember the last assignment for our writing class freshmen year?" Naruto still didn't change his expression so Hinata went on. "It was a research paper and we could choose our own topic...and you chose..."

"Ramen. Of course I remember that! I got the best grade on that assignment! I know I would've failed that class if it wasn't for that." Naruto chuckled. "I still have that paper though."

"No way..." Hinata said through her own laughter.

"I do! It's the best grade I've gotten for writing so I wanted to keep it." Naruto shrugged while Hinata kept laughing.

It was the end of the week and Naruto and Hinata were catching up as they waited for Natsumi in her classroom. The little girl had begged her father to let her play with her classmate Haru for a little while who was still waiting to be picked up in the office. Naruto had been reluctant because, knowing Natsumi's feelings for Haru, he didn't like the idea of his daughter getting involved with a boy at such a young age. He was about to go and interrogate this Haru kid when Hinata reassured him that they would be okay. She had seen how Natsumi interacted with Haru in class and she had told Naruto that it was just a harmless crush. They were barely nine years old so they wouldn't get involved in the way Naruto was implying, but he was just being overprotective.

As he waited for his daughter, Naruto decided to strike up a conversation with Hinata. It was awkward between the two when it was just the two of them. Natsumi was like a buffer but now that she wasn't there, it hurt Naruto a bit to realize that they still weren't comfortable to interact on their own with one another. But that was something Naruto knew he had to work towards since he was the one who had caused it. So he began talking. It started off as small talk but they spoke more and more as the conversation continued. Naruto wasn't expecting them to be comfortable like how they used to be but it was nice to be able to talk about the time they shared together little by little, even if they never directly talked about their relationship. Just talking to Hinata about some of the memories was enough for Naruto.

"You know, for the past couple of weeks I've been meaning to ask you something." Naruto spoke seriously after their laughter had died down. He finally felt confident enough to ask her directly.

"What is it?" Hinata spoke softly as she mirrored his expression.

"How did you end up here?" Hinata didn't reply only because she didn't know what he was addressing to. The city? Her job? "How did you become a teacher?"

"Oh, that's simple. I just had to take some courses and get certifi-"

"No, I mean why did you become a teacher? You never said anything about becoming one when we were in college."

It was strange how Hinata had never been asked that before. It was true that she hadn't planned on becoming a teacher but things took an unexpected turn that she had ended up here. She guessed that since no one ever asked her this question she never knew how uncomfortable she was answering it. Naruto knew her from before she decided to work in this career, which made her even more reluctant to answer him. She didn't want someone to think that she was unable to reach her original goal so she settled into this. It was certainly that way at first but she really enjoyed her work now and she didn't want to go back.

"That's probably a story for another time." Hinata smiled at Naruto, feeling relieved as she saw Natsumi walk back into the classroom.

Naruto realized that his daughter was back and dropped the subject there, but he was still very eager to find out what had happened. There was a part of him that dreaded the possibility that maybe he was the reason why she decided to give up what she had been pursuing before he broke up with her.

"Let's go dad, I'm hungry! Bye Ms. Hinata!" Natsumi grabbed her backpack and then her dad before exiting the classroom with an energetic wave to Hinata.

Naruto gave small goodbye of his own to Hinata, wishing her a good weekend, before heading out after his daughter.

Speaking of the weekend Hinata's date was on this Saturday. She had almost a week to think about it but even now she didn't have a plan on what they would be doing on that day. This was bad.

She had asked Tenten for advice and she had responded, "Well why don't you do a normal, simple date, something you would like. He always does something fancy and overboard. He's used to that kind of stuff." Tenten rolled her eyes. "Why don't you throw him off his guard and make it a simple date, something where he can't control everything."

That made sense. Hinata knew that if Sasuke had to decide on the date then they would have done something similar to their first date. Being from such a family as his, it wasn't a surprise to see what kind of things he was used to, but to Hinata that didn't matter. What mattered to her was knowing the kind of person Sasuke was.

After the dinner last week with Naruto and Natsumi, Hinata decided that a simple date was the way to go. Even though her first date with Sasuke had been in a really nice place, it was not something Hinata liked doing all the time.

On the other hand, thinking about Naruto made Hinata realize that he was indeed trying to be on better terms with her and make up for the past. He was more open with her and they spoke often, usually when he came to pick up Natsumi. Even with so much interaction, Hinata knew that they were still dealing with each other on a formal level. It was mostly small talks or Natsumi that made them interact with each other so it still felt that they hadn't bridged the gap yet but it was slowly getting there.

For Hinata, the challenge was to realize just how much she would allow Naruto to be in her life. So far she was comfortable with how things were between the two, but if it stayed this way then they would never be able to interact as anything more than someone they used to know. It was probably the little girl's presence that allowed them to be more casual with each other.

* * *

"Sasuke, where are you going?" Sasuke got off the bar stool he had occupied while he sat with his friend and paid on the counter before turning to head out. "Done already? It's still pretty early." The speaker stopped him from leaving by placing her hand on his forearm when he placed the bills.

"Sakura, are you keeping tabs on me?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the pink haired bartender that stood on the other side of the bar.

He had seen her here often since this was the one place he frequented with his friends whenever he needed a drink, and if he had to be honest, he had picked up quite a lot of one-night stands from this place, including the bartender. It was just something about this place that always attracted some of the hottest girls in the city. But now it seemed that Sakura was getting more and more confident in testing her boundaries with Sasuke. She was the only one who was a little more than a one-night stand but that was only because he always saw her here and she was always persistent at approaching him. Now it was kind of getting annoying. For the past several times she had approached him she wasn't getting the hint that he wasn't interested and tonight Sasuke knew that she was probably hoping he would get drunk enough to accept her offer.

"You're so funny Sasuke." She waved her hand at him. "I was just saying since you always stay way past midnight on Fridays, but right now it's barely even eleven."

"Well, I have to be somewhere tomorrow so I can't afford to waste time today getting drunk. Don't want to have a hangover for my date." Sasuke smirked at her shocked expression and moved his arm away from her grip. He nodded at his friend to say goodbye and then left the bar to head to his apartment.

It was annoying that he didn't get to spend his weekends like he used to since he decided to take this dating thing seriously. He knew he was young but it was getting boring how things were going on his life. This combined with a newfound interest his parents had suddenly taken in his love-life told him that he better straighten up or else his parents were more than happy to set him up.

Sasuke wasn't interested in something serious where he would have to propose to someone in the end, but he was tired of the constant hookups and breakups. He wanted to have a normal experience in something for once. He wanted to to find someone, date them, and whatever else people normally did. He just wanted something different than what he was used to.

He wasn't sure this different thing he was looking for was something that he actually wanted, but for now he knew he was looking forward to it. Sasuke didn't know whether it was because it was a whole new experience for him or was it because of Hinata. He didn't care about that right now and just decided to enjoy it for what it was.

The next day Sasuke received a text from Hinata telling him to meet her at a specific address. He obliged, driving to the location she told him about and waited inside the car. It was pretty early, almost 10. Well, it was early for Sasuke on a weekend. It was also pretty chilly since winter was approaching.

Sasuke couldn't help but curse at Hinata in his head for deciding to do this so early and making him wait out here in the cold, but in reality he was eager to find out what she had in store for him. It was different being on the receiving end of this for the first time. All he had to do was just relax and enjoy while Hinata did all the planning.

"Sorry for making you wait." Hinata opened the passenger door and sat inside the car trying to warm herself.

"Why this early?" Sasuke asked without caring for any pleasantries and greetings.

"I thought we could have breakfast together." Hinata shrugged.

Sasuke observed her for a few seconds before starting his car. "Whatever. Just tell me where we're going for breakfast."

"IHOP." Sasuke rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to groan. Sure he wanted something normal, but is this what people did, or was this girl just weird? Who goes to IHOP for a date.

Sasuke took a quick glance at Hinata's direction who was too preoccupied with whatever was outside her window. Even though he didn't know her that well, Sasuke thought that she was acting weird. Was she deliberately trying to make this date like this. Maybe she was doing this to scare him away or something. He remembered Tenten had said something about that but Sasuke was stubborn and he wasn't fickle either. He would see what she did today to see what her game really was.

* * *

Hinata knew it was a bad idea the minute it came out of her mouth but now she couldn't take it back. The truth was that she still didn't know what they would do today since she didn't have anything planned out. So technically she was winging it. There was one thing she really wanted which was to get to know Sasuke more and that was why she had asked him to come this early. She thought that it would be nice to spend almost the whole day together. This way she would get to talk to him more and find out about him from himself.

That was all great but looking at Sasuke's annoyed expression now, she knew that suggesting IHOP wasn't really the best idea. Like who goes there for a date? Especially with Sasuke Uchiha who has probably never stepped in an IHOP in his entire life, until now. Why would he need to go to a cheap alternative for breakfast when he could afford to eat his pancakes at any five star restaurant in the city. Well hopefully he'll enjoy some seasonal specials there, Hinata thought.

As they pulled into the parking lot, Hinata gathered her things while Sasuke looked for his beanie after parking his car. The both of them were dressed in casual clothes, although Sasuke's casual was still more fancy than Hinata's, but the point was that he would blend in with the crowd. He still wore a beanie just incase somebody would recognize him from his spiky black hair. What a hilarious headline it would be that 'Uchiha stock dropping so low that the prodigal younger son eats out of a measly IHOP.'

Sasuke snorted realizing how ridiculous he looked walking into this place. If people knew who he was as soon as he walked into the place, he was sure they would immediately become suspicious. He would too if he didn't know that this was Hinata's suggestion and he was just trying to be a gentleman to his date.

"Sasuke, we can go somewhere else," Hinata suggested after she saw him wipe his side of the table for the third time with a napkin.

It was way too sticky for him and he was sure they didn't do a good job at cleaning it before they sat them down.

"No, this is fine. This is absolutely fine," Sasuke said as he wiped one more time.

Even though they hadn't spoken much since they got their, but just from looking at Sasuke, Hinata was able to see some parts of him. She figured that he wasn't used to places like these since his family probably always roamed in a high class society. She also found out that he was very stubborn. No matter how cringeworthy this place was to him, Sasuke did not let his resolve drop. It was as if going to IHOP was a challenge he had to win.

Hinata smiled inwardly as she decided what they should do for the rest of the day. She remembered what Tenten had suggested to her about doing something that she would like, but thinking about it now and knowing how Sasuke usually was, she wanted to take him out of his comfort zone and just spend the day with him in the most boringly normal way. Tenten had told her how Sasuke was and how he would usually spend his days so this would be a complete opposite of that, but since it would just be the two of them without any extravagant distractions, hopefully along the way she would find out more about him.

* * *

 **Any suggestions for their date? What do you think about the way it's going so far?**


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm sorry that this is a short one, but I promise to upload the next one in a few days.**

 **Thank you to everyone that left a comment and reviewed.**

 **Here's the new chapter. Let me know what you think.**

* * *

"How do you do it?"

Hinata peaked up from the edge of the book she had been hiding behind to see him sitting at her table, right across from her. His blue eyes showing the smile she knew was on his lips without even looking away. Why was he always smiling?

"How do you do it?" He asked again when she did not respond.

"W-what?" She stuttered, blushing like she always did in front of him.

"That." He pointed at the book in her hands as his smile grew even wider, and if Hinata wasn't so distracted by his eyes she would have caught the teasing nature of it that grew even more at her blush.

"W-what about it?" She asked without turning her eyes away even when her blush grew warmer.

Naruto reached up from across the table to tip the edge of her book so that he could see more of her face that was hidden from his view.

"How do you read upside down?" He whispered to her, suddenly remembering he was in a library.

"Huh?" She gaped at the man that was slowing leaning his head towards her as if he was about to share a secret.

"You're reading your book upside down." He tapped his finger on the book in her hand and with a start Hinata shifted her eyes to look at the object she just realized she was holding.

Turning a thousand shades redder than she already was, Hinata ducked her head further down behind her book as she heard Naruto silently chuckle across from her. In her haste to hide herself from Naruto, she had grabbed her book and opened it to a random page in front of her pretending that she was reading it, without realizing that it was upside down.

"Hinata..." Naruto couldn't help but laugh softly at the shy girl in front of her. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to..." He said between his chuckles.

She had always been easy to tease in class and Naruto wanted to know if she was like that outside of class as well. He didn't know why but he liked talking to her even though she was so shy and quiet.

Since starting university, he has been surrounded by strangers from all around the world, and having never been to anywhere outside of where he grew up, the city felt so foreign to him. He supposed that he was feeling homesick, but then he met her and everything felt like it belonged. He liked going to classes even if it meant that he would get to see her in one of them. Also, he realized that he had been doubting himself and holding back from meeting new people around him which was why he felt so lonely at this new school.

If he had never met Hinata, he would have thought that there wasn't much to this place. But now he was out of that mellow stupor he had placed himself in, and he had even met some pretty cool people in his classes. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to go so far for college.

"N-naruto..." Her soft voice brought him back from his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"C-can I have the book b-back?" He realized that he was still holding onto the book that she was "reading" earlier.

"Say Hinata...are you doing anything later?"

Her fading blush rose back to her cheeks as she tried not to read too much into the implications of what he said, and Naruto knew that. He knew she was doing all her best to keep herself from thinking that he was asking her out like that. He knew that she always doubted herself, just like he once did to himself.

There was a kind of warmth that pooled in his chest at the sight of her slightly confused face as she shook her head to answer his question. This seemed like such a simple moment and it probably was, but he knew that it was after a lot of courage and practice that he was here, talking to her. He hadn't known how to approach this, but now, no matter how ridiculous the next thing sounded that came out of his mouth, he wanted nothing more than for her to say 'yes'.

"Do you want to grab breakfast?"

* * *

"Tell me again why we're here?" Sasuke eyed the menu in front of him as he tried to hide his disgust at all the items they served at this place. Why did it seem like everything here was going to be something his stomach would not like later in the day.

"I wanted to grab breakfast with you." Hinata's reply was mumbled through the crowded restaurant and it was a miracle that he even heard her.

She was too absorbed in the menu and couldn't decide between the two pancake flavors; cinnamon or strawberry. Sasuke, on the other hand, tried to keep his irritation for this place at bay. He was in a god damn diner on a weekend. There were people everywhere! And the kid behind him couldn't stop crying. He hated this place.

His eyes narrowed at the girl in front of him who was still looking at the menu. Why would she bring him here? Did she not know who he was? Did she really expect him to be comfortable in a place like this. Was this a test?...His eyes narrowed even further as he remembered when he first saw her at their first date. She had seemed nervous and slightly uncomfortable.

At first he thought that it was because of who he was, but that couldn't be since she didn't know his name until he told her. Then it must have been the expensive restaurant, yes that must be it. She was probably uncomfortable being in such an environment thinking that something was expected from her since the date was in such an expensive place. Was she getting back at him for that? Because if she was then it was working.

* * *

 **Sasuke...always the skeptic.**

 **If you haven't realized yet, the first part was supposed to be a scene from the past.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello everyone! It's been a while.**

 **I was a little apprehensive about writing a new chapter for this story since a lot of people were worried or kept asking about the pairings of the story. I understand if someone doesn't like to read a certain pairing but I don't want to flat out say how this one is going to end since it would give the story away. But do let me know what your thoughts are concerning it. Reading your reviews and comments always motivates and inspires me to write more.**

 **Thank you to everyone who left a comment and reviewed. It's my only source of sustenance in this realm of writing.**

 **Here's the new chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **1 month later...**

Hinata stood by the window, looking out at the rain as each drop poured on the glass before sliding down with the weight of gravity.

The school was practically empty now save for a few teachers who were catching up with their grading. It was a new semester now and the lull of winter break was finally wearing off. But there was one thing that was different.

Natsumi hadn't returned.

Hinata hadn't received any notice indicating that the girl had left the school but it had been a week now since school started. Where could she be? Hinata hated to admit it but a part of her worry for her student's absence was also for Naruto. If Natsumi was not showing to class then it meant that something must have happened to Naruto.

Willing away any solemn thoughts about him and his absence, Hinata prepared to head home. She hadn't anticipated rain today but she was still ready for it with her umbrella.

It was raining pretty hard and the sky looked too dark. With a sigh she walked out hoping that she wouldn't get sick tomorrow. She didn't want to spend her weekend like that.

Thinking about the weekend Hinata was reminded of the last time she went out on a weekend. That was when she had gone out with Sasuke and since then she had been too busy to go out, even with Tenten. And when winter break rolled around, her father had called her letting her know that she was due for a visit back home so she couldn't really spend much time with her friend and Sasuke, not that he ever said they would.

Pulling out her cellphone, she scrolled through her contacts looking for his name. Biting her lip, she thought to the last time they saw each other.

She hadn't seen much of Sasuke after their second date, which unfortunately had ended right after they finished their breakfast. He had received a call from work indicating that his presence was required and he could not refuse so they parted ways afterwards.

Hinata had felt that even though their date had ended abruptly, the two were still on good terms if Sasuke's demeanor was anything to go on. He had teased her about her weird choice of place for a romantic date, and asked whether she had used his name to get in front of the reservation list, which caused her to blush and giggle. Sasuke also seemed to relax around her towards the end of their meal and Hinata was looking forward to talking to him more on the date but sadly she couldn't.

They hadn't made any promises, but she knew that they were going to see each other again, and hopefully make up for the date.

That was almost a month ago, and till now they hadn't seen each other. They had talked on the phone and texted but every time they tried to make a plan to meet up again, one of them would always be busy.

It was awkward talking to Sasuke over texts since both were never fond of talking much but since they weren't able to see each other, Hinata wanted to keep in touch especially when she went home over winter break.

Looking at the last texted Sasuke had sent her, Hinata couldn't help but smile. It was a picture of his cat. Who would've thought that he was a cat person.

Hinata liked this side of Sasuke. She felt that he was becoming more comfortable talking to her about random things just to say something to her. She didn't know what they would call this though. Would this be dating even though they technically had only been on two dates? And they hadn't explicitly said anything about being in a relationship. So what was this? For some reason Hinata hoped that if they never decided to go out she would still be able to be friends with Sasuke. For now she was content with just talking because it felt nice to just talk to him. Since college the only person she had stayed in contact with was Tenten and that was because they worked together so she was glad that at least she had someone outside of work to talk to especially since Tenten was spending more time with her new boyfriend.

Sometimes Hinata felt that she was missing out on something since she was still single. Was something wrong with her? But then she would chide herself for thinking like that. She was Hinata who was strong and independent. She didn't need be in a relationship to be happy.

Then there was Sasuke who she didn't know what to think of. Sometimes she would hope that they could meet up again and maybe figure out what they should do. Maybe they should get together or maybe they should forget about it. It was weird not having a clear direction on where they were going. A part of hoped that they could just stay friends. It wasn't because she didn't like him but that she just didn't want to use him to get over someone else. It was weird not feeling sad at the loss of the possibility of a relationship with Sasuke that any girl would love to have, and it made her wonder whether she was okay or not. She guessed that it was because her heart was still stuck on a certain someone, but she pushed that thought away not wanting to acknowledge something she knew deep down.

* * *

On the other side of town, Sasuke headed out to the parking lot to get to his car. He had just finished working on the 200 page contract for the company's new project and he was tired. He couldn't wait to get to his apartment. It was way too cold outside and the rain wasn't helping either.

These past couple of weeks had been hectic for him and he had been working nonstop without a single minute to spare. Usually, Sasuke wouldn't mind this but lately he had been wishing to get out of his office more. It was weird to feel such a way and he wouldn't like to admit it but there was a reason behind such a change. Where before he was married to his work, now he couldn't wait to be done with it. He had been staying till late hours in his office for the past month but every time he couldn't help but wish that he could be somewhere else rather than be stuck in his office, somewhere preferably with Hinata.

That thought always stunned him since he only met her twice. Their encounter on the second date had started off weird in his opinion, but after he forced himself to look past his suspicions, he saw that all Hinata was doing was trying her best to get to know him. She wasn't trying to impress him especially considering where they went, but she genuinely wanted to find out more about. Unfortunately, their was cut short, but he had been talking to her since then and now he wouldn't admit it out loud but he really enjoyed talking to her. Their conversations were always random or lighthearted which he assumed was why he liked talking to her. He didn't have to worry about what to say or do when with her and she obviously wasn't trying to impress him or get his attention which made everything feel more genuine.

As he drove through the streets he decided to give her a call soon and make a plan to meet up again now that he had more time.

* * *

Hinata rushed through the streets in the rain with her umbrella above her head. It was January and yet they still had such heavy rainfall.

She had the way to her place from her work memorized so it was easy to get lost in her thoughts while she walked.

"Hey! Watch out!" Hinata was jerked out of her thoughts when she felt a hand grab at her arm. She was pulled out of the way of a speeding car that probably could not see the road well through the rain. A few more seconds and she would have been in its way.

"Thank-" Her gratitude died on her lips when she saw who her savior was.

"Hinata, are you okay?" His blue eyes spoke of concern and Hinata could not help but feel relieved to know he hadn't left. _Why was I even worried?_ Hinata thought in confusion.

"Yes," she said softly. He was soaking in the rain and when she focused on the hand that still held her, she realized that he was freezing. "Naruto, you're freezing."

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine." He tried to wave off her worry but she could see his lips that were slightly turning blue. His whole visage was showing that he was not fine. He had bags under his eyes and his skin was pale. He looked sickly.

"How long have you been out here?"

"Not…long." She could see the lie.

"You can't stay out here, especially like this." His clothes were all wet and he was sure to get a cold.

"I'm fine," he chuckled. She was the one who was about to get hit by a car a few minutes ago yet she was more concerned about him.

"No, you're not. You're shivering." She held his hand to show him his trembling digits.

He frowned at his hand. He felt fine but his body said otherwise.

"Let's go. You're going to get sick." She pulled him beside her and brought him under her umbrella. "How far do you live from here?"

"Just around the corner." He pointed out and soon they walked in silence to his place. He did not think that today would turn out like this but deep down he was glad that he ran into Hinata. He was slowly becoming aware of the condition he had put his body into. He was not trying to get himself sick but he just got distracted.

"Naruto, where now?"

He lead her until the reached the building where his apartment was. When he walked into the warmth of the building he finally realized how cold he was.

After closing her umbrella Hinata followed him to the elevator. Naruto was wobbling a bit and she was worried that he might not be able to hold himself up anymore. How long had he been out there?

She helped him through his door when it was obvious he could not stand by himself anymore. After seating him on his sofa, Hinata went into his kitchen and looked around to find something warm for him to eat.

"You need to change out of these clothes." He nodded and, after a few attempts, got up to change.

His cupboards were bare and there were only a few things stocked. She finally found some tea and decided to make that. She couldn't help but wonder why he was like this.

"Thanks for walking me here. I don't know what happened." He said when he walked out of his room in a dry set of clothes.

"Are you still feeling dizzy?"

"Nah, I'm fine." He was smiling again but it was the one she knew he made when he didn't want someone to worry about him. It was the one he hid his true feelings behind.

"Naruto, what going on?" He frowned at her question.

"What do you mean?"

"You look…horrible."

"Geez thanks Hinata." He laughed.

"I'm being serious." She said firmly. She knew when he was trying to evade a topic and he was doing it now.

His face became serious again but he did not look at her. "It's nothing."

"Naruto…if there's anything-"

"I said there's nothing. Stop worrying." He said but winced afterwards at how harsh he sounded.

"Ok." He was doing it again. He was shutting her out just like he did all those years ago. But the difference this time was that he wasn't obliged to tell her anything. They weren't together so she shouldn't care if he was hiding something from her.

"I made some tea for you." She pointed to the cup on the counter. "And keep yourself warm. You'll probably be getting a cold."

"Thanks."

"Bye." She straightened her back and walk walked up to his door leaving him standing there in silence, but before she could head out, he spoke.

"Wait. I'll tell you." She stopped and turned to see him standing in the same spot but he was looking at her this time. "Just..don't go." He pleaded and Hinata could hear the slight desperation in his voice. She nodded and closed the door.

"You need to keep yourself warm, and drink this." She handed him his tea and took a cup for herself before they settled on his table.

He sat across from her with a contemplative look while Hinata waited for him patiently. This was what she wanted, right? All she wanted was for him to be honest with her from the beginning.

"I...I think Ayame wants to take full custody of Natsumi." Hinata frowned but did not say anything. "She..." he roved his hand through his hair before grabbing on to his bangs in a fist. "I can't..." He took a shuddering breath as if he was trying to hold back his tears.

"Naruto..."

"She's the only family I have!" Suddenly he was yelling at her and his hands fisted on the table to show how much he was restraining. "I can't have her take my only child away from me. She's going to get sole custody of her and then take her away from me, and I won't be able to stop her."

"Naruto, she can't do that-"

"Yes she can...she can Hinata," he looked into her eyes, "I've...my past isn't...the best. I was stupid in high school and if she were to ever bring up the things I did in court I could easily lose not just her custody but any visitation rights." He held his head in his hands.

She knew what he was referring to in his past and in her opinion it wasn't something that bad. He had stolen things and got involved with the wrong people, but he was a minor then. Also, he hadn't done anything like that since he left that place, surely that would count for something.

"You were a minor then Naruto. I'm sure it wouldn't matter now." She reassured him.

"But what if it did matter." Hinata frowned at his reaction. He was being irrational and slightly paranoid.

"Why would Ayame do that? She seemed like a nice person when I met her."

"I don't know. Maybe she's bitter." He shrugged but stared at the tea in front of him.

"Naruto, where has Natsumi been for the past week?"

"She went with Ayame during winter break. They haven't gotten back from their trip yet."

"Oh." So he had been without her for three weeks.

"I don't know if I'm just being paranoid, but I'm worried Hinata. The last time I spoke to Ayame, we had an argument about Natsumi and how to raise her. What if she does take her away from me?"

"Naruto, you're just assuming all this. Don't worry yourself over something that hasn't happened and probably won't."

"But what if it does happen. Hinata, what if I'm a bad parent. Maybe I shouldn't be in Natsumi's life. I'll just fuck it up."

It was as if she was seeing a whole new person sitting in front of her. Naruto had always been jovial and carefree. His confidence was one of the things she admired the most. But right now, this person was different. Hinata could see what had become of the person he once was.

Having lost his family at a young age, he knew what it was like to grow up without parents. Finding out that he had, unintentionally, left his own child to a fate similar to his own, he must have been ridden with guilt. And then for the next four years, he did all he could to make it up to her. He had changed his entire life around for his daughter. It was as if his life only depended on her.

It was nice to see him have such dedication to his daughter, but he was also lonely without her. Hinata felt heartbroken to know that he had ended up isolating himself just so he could focus solely on his daughter. It was as if he was punishing himself for not being in her life from the beginning.

She reached across the table and placed a hand on one of his fisted ones. He immediately looked up to see tears in Hinata's eyes.

"Hey, why are you crying?" he frowned in concern.

"You really love your daughter."

"...Yeah," he answered even though it wasn't a question.

"But can't you see that you're punishing yourself."

"What?" his expression changed to one of confusion.

"You've isolated yourself thinking that you're doing it because you want to just focus on your daughter."

"But she's everything I have."

"She is," Hinata squeezed his hand, "but you can't depend your life on her. That is too much for a child her age to handle."

Naruto stayed quiet for a couple seconds while he stared at the hand that held his own on the table. Slowly he turned his over so that his palm faced hers. His fingers enclosed around hers and he looked up to see Hinata smiling at him.

"You're right." He looked back down at their hands in deep thought."I never thought of it that way...I just thought I was doing what I needed to...I was probably overreacting too. Ayame wouldn't do something like that."

"No matter what happens, there's one thing I know for sure that Natsumi loves you a lot."

"Thanks." Naruto gave a small smile of his own but it soon turned into a sad one. "You're a great person Hinata." She blushed at his sudden compliment. "I...I hurt you all those years ago, but you're here helping me. I don't deserve any of this." Hinata was too stunned to say anything for a few seconds before she regained her composure.

"I know we ended things in a...bad way, but I can't deny that you had been there for me back when I couldn't even stand up for myself."

He was silent again until he began moving his thumb in circles on the back of her hand.

"I really messed up something good all those years ago."

"What do you-" Hinata cut herself off at the look he gave her. She knew what he was talking about.

"Thank you Hinata...and I'm sorry," he whispered as he lowered his eyes in shame. "I wish I wasn't such an an idiot back then or else things could've been different." He held her hand a little longer before letting it go.

She didn't know what to say so she remained quiet the rest of time. She had seen the way he smiled and how painful it looked. She knew of the pain she felt when he left her but today she saw a glimpse of what he had made himself go through because of his decision. She saw guilt in his eyes just right now when he said what she had been crying over the past couple of years.

"It's funny how life just keeps bringing us together without any plan." Hinata smiled ruefully. "I thought I wasn't going to see you again since Natsumi had missed school for a week."

Naruto gave her a somber look realizing that she thought he had disappeared again without a single word. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." Hinata shook her head as she got up and carried their cups to the kitchen. "I guess I was being paranoid too." She laughed nervously at her lame attempt at a joke.

"Natsumi should be back by next week," he said with a smile.

"Ok, then. Take care. I'll...see you around." With one last look, Hinata headed out of his apartment but on her way back she couldn't help but feel the heavy beating of her heart.

* * *

The next day, Hinata walked through the park enjoying the scenery around her.

"I still think your ideas for a romantic outing are lame." Sasuke smirked as he walked behind her.

"They're not." She pouted. "Maybe you just don't have great taste in dates."

"Ouch." He chuckled.

When Hinata got home last night, she was anxious and worried for how things ended with Naruto. She had wanted to stay to make sure he was looking after himself, but she knew it would be inappropriate to overstep her boundaries, especially after hearing him say out loud that he regretted his decision to leave her all those years ago.

It was one thing to think it but it was another to hear it from the other person. They both wanted the same thing and it clenched at Hinata's heart because she still thought about the what ifs. Which was why when she heard Sasuke's call, she agreed to whatever he said. In reality, she had been wanting to meet up with him, but this time she also wanted to forget about the way she was feeling. She had promised herself that she would move on.

Turning around to look at the man walking behind her, Hinata felt guilty for using Sasuke like that but she knew that if she ever wanted to try and move on then he was perfect. She thought that he was not as serious about this as her previous dates so it would not hurt either of them if it didn't work out, but what she didn't know was that Sasuke wanted this to work out.

"Sasuke, tell me about yourself." He raised an eyebrow at her request.

"You already know everything." He said referring to what everyone knew from the news about his family.

"No," she shook her head, "tell me about _yourself_. What you like or dislike...What were you like in high school?"

Sasuke was in thought for a minute, trying to decide how to answer her question. "I guess I haven't changed much from high school...except maybe getting taller."

"What about your friends?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "I didn't really have many."

"What do you mean?" she frowned. "I thought you'd be popular in high school."

"I was," he smirked, "but that doesn't mean I had people I could trust." His smirk faded and was replaced by a serious look. "It took me a few years afterwards to figure out what it actually meant to trust someone but back in high school I was just...too full of myself." Sasuke felt self conscious all of a sudden. Why was he telling her all this?

He thought back to the blond idiot in his school who loved to challenge him. He was always the troublemaker, but if Sasuke had to be honest, he was the only one who had never tried to be fake around him, and he admired that about him. But he would never admit that out loud. It also didn't help now that the man was working for him because now he knew how hardworking he was, especially for his daughter. Sasuke knew about his daughter since he did go to high school with him, and a part of him couldn't help but be amazed at how Naruto was able to take on such a responsibility considering he didn't even know before then that he had a child.

"What about now?" Hinata asked breaking him out of his thoughts.

"...It's the same I guess." He shrugged indifferently but inside he felt like he sounded pathetic. Who doesn't have friends?

Sure he had people to hang out with but he didn't have friends in the way he knew she was referring. He never thought about things like this because he was always busy with his work but now he honestly could not come up with a single person he would say he could trust, except for family of course. How pitiful was that? Hinata probably thought so.

"Well, it just means that you have to meet new people." she smiled while Sasuke felt something strange brewing in his chest.

* * *

 **I really wanted to bring out a different side of each of the characters, and hopefully it didn't seem awkward. I was worried that I would mess up their characterizations.**

 **Let me know what you think about the way each of them were in this chapter.**


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